verwekken

Verwekken is a Dutch verb that historically means to beget or to sire offspring. In a biological sense it denotes the act of causing a child to be conceived and born. The primary, contemporary sense remains tied to reproduction, as in een man die een kind verwekt. In broader or more figurative contexts the verb can appear archaic or literary, meaning to bring something into existence or to cause a result, but such uses are rare in everyday language.

Etymology and related forms: verwekken is formed with the prefix ver- added to wekken (to wake or to bring into being). The related noun verwekking denotes the act or process of begetting, and verwekker refers to the agent responsible—often used in genetics or medicine to mean the begetter, and more commonly as verwekker of a disease (the causative agent of a illness).

Usage notes: In modern Dutch, speakers typically prefer neutral alternatives like voortbrengen or krijgen when talking about bearing children, or simply veroorzaken for causes in a general sense. Verwekken thus tends to appear in historical texts, poetry, or formal prose rather than in everyday speech.

See also: verwekking, verwekker. These terms are related to the concept of begetting and, in medical language, to pathogens or causative agents; separate from but sometimes confused with more general notions of causing or producing events.

In sum, verwekken is a traditional Dutch verb most commonly associated with begetting offspring, while its broader, non-biological sense is infrequent and largely literary in modern usage.