schnürte

Schnürte is the simple past tense form of the German verb schnüren, meaning to lace, tie, or fasten with a cord, string, or ribbon. The infinitive is schnüren; the past participle is geschnürt, and the third person singular present is schnürt. The verb is commonly used in contexts involving footwear, clothing, or equipment that is secured by lacing, such as shoes, boots, corsets, or sails. For example, a narrative sentence might read: Er schnürte sich die Schuhe fest.

Etymology and related terms: Schnüren derives from the noun Schnur, meaning cord or string, and shares its semantic field with related Germanic terms for tying or binding. Related nouns include Schnur (cord) and Schnürsenkel (shoelace), and the concept is found in various expressions describing binding or fastening.

Grammatical notes: Schnüren is a regular verb in contemporary German, following standard weak-verb conjugation. The past tense forms are ich schnürte, du schnürtest, er schnürte, wir schnürten, ihr schnürtet, sie schnürten. The perfect tense is formed with haben: ich habe geschnürt. The third person singular present tense is geschnürt (with the umlaut in the stem during certain forms), but in practice the form schnürt is the common present tense.

Usage considerations: The term schnürte is mainly encountered in written narration, historical descriptions, or specific technical contexts (e.g., clothing, maritime rigging). In everyday speech, speakers often use more general expressions such as Schuhe binden or Schnüre schnüren to describe tying shoelaces.

Translations: In English, schnüren translates as to lace up, to tie, or to fasten. The past tense form schnürte corresponds to “laced up” or “tied up” in past contexts.