oplopen

Oplopen is a Dutch verb that generally means to come up, develop, or rise, and it is most often used in two related senses: to contract or develop something undesirable, such as an illness or injury, and to increase or accumulate in amount, intensity, or duration, such as costs, temperature, or tension.

Etymology and range of use: The word is formed from op- (up, onto) and lopen (to walk/run). In the illness sense, oplopen describes catching or developing a condition. In the monetary or experiential sense, it describes something rising or accumulating over time. The form oplopen can appear in compounds where the prefix op is part of the verb’s meaning, especially in present-tense phrases like lopen op.

Common senses and examples:

- Illness or injury: Een verkoudheid oplopen means to catch a cold. Example: Ik heb tijdens de reis een verkoudheid opgelopen.

- Increase or accumulation: De kosten lopen op; de temperaturen lopen op; de spanning liep op. These express that costs, temperatures, or tension are rising or have risen.

Forms and usage notes: The past participle is opgelopen, used in perfect tenses (Ik heb een verkoudheid opgelopen). The verb can be used intransitively in expressions about rising quantities or conditions, and it also appears in phrases where a direct object denotes what is being contracted.

See also: lopen (to walk/run), op (prefix indicating upward onset), Dutch verb prefixes.