voortschrijden

Voortschrijven is a Dutch verb meaning to move forward, to progress, or to continue to advance in time or space. It can refer to physical movement along a route, as in een voertuig dat voortschrijdt, or to the gradual development of a process or situation, for example ontwikkelingen die voortschrijven or a project that voortschrijdt. In economics and policy discourse the term is often used with adjectives such as voortschrijdende inflatie to denote inflation that continues to rise over time.

Etymology: The verb is a composition of voort-, meaning forward or onward, and schrijden, an archaic or literary form meaning to stride or go forward. It is cognate with the German schreiten and the English stride. Because of its archaic undertone, voortschrijven appears mainly in formal, historical, or academic Dutch; everyday language tends to use voortgaan, vooruitgaan or doorlopen to express similar ideas.

Usage: Voortschrijden is generally intransitive; the subject is the thing that moves forward. It conveys continuity rather than abrupt change and is often used in descriptions of time, movement, or progressive change such as reforms, developments, or research. It can be used with metonymic or extended subjects, for example “onderhandelingen schreden voort” or “de tijd schrijdt voort” in literary contexts.

Synonyms and related terms: voortgaan, vooruitgaan, vorderen (to advance), vooruitgang (progress), voortgang. See also schreiten (archaic verb).