sänker

Sænker is a Danish verb meaning to lower or to cause to sink. It is transitive, used with a direct object to indicate making something go down in height, level, or value. For example, one can say that a price is lowered or that a weight is lowered into water.

Conjugation and usage notes: In present tense, the form is sænker (du sænker, han/hun sænker, vi sænker, I sænker, de sænker). The past tense is sænkede for all persons. The perfect participle is sænket, used with have or be to form perfect and passive constructions, as in jeg har sænket prisen or prisen er sænket. The imperative singular is sænk (for example, sænk prisen). The verb is intransitive in its intransitive cognate sense, while the verb itself is usually used with an object when meaning “to lower.”

Etymology and related forms: Sænke originates from Old Danish and is related to other Germanic languages’ verbs for lowering or sinking. It is cognate with related forms in the Scandinavian languages, and with the English idea of lowering or sinking through common Germanic roots. The noun form sænkning means the act or process of lowering.

Distinctions and related terms: Danish also has synke, meaning to sink in the sense of something descending on its own or a ship sinking; this is intransitive and not used as sænke in the transitive sense. The noun sænkning describes the act of lowering, while sænket describes something that has been lowered. Sænkning can refer to lowering prices, levels, or other measurements.

See also: synke; sænkning; sænk (imperative form).