rekken

Rekken is a Dutch verb meaning to stretch, extend, or elongate. It can refer to the physical act of stretching body parts or an object such as fabric or rope, as well as to prolonging or delaying something, for example time or a period. In sports, physiotherapy, and everyday language, rekken is used for both stretching as an exercise and the act of pulling something longer.

As a noun, rek (plural rekken) denotes a rack, shelf, or stand. The plural rekken is used in compound words such as boekenrekken (book racks) and kledingrekken (clothes racks). The term appears in a variety of contexts where an supports structure or frame is involved.

Figurative uses include extending non-physical things, such as time or limits: tijd rekken means to buy time, and grenzen rekken means to push the boundaries. The verb can be combined with different objects or phrases to describe varying degrees of elongation or postponement, making rekken a versatile term in both literal and metaphorical senses.

Etymology traces the word to native Dutch roots within the Germanic language family; rekken shares connections with related terms in Dutch and other Germanic languages that express pulling, drawing out, or extending. In everyday use, it remains a common, neutral verb and noun in both spoken and written Dutch, with clear distinctions between its physical and figurative meanings.