wälzte

Wälzte is the simple past tense (Präteritum) of the German verb wälzen. The basic meaning is to cause something to roll or to roll oneself, as when an object moves by turning over or when a person or animal moves by rolling on a surface. The form is also used reflexively in phrases such as sich wälzen, which describes someone or something rolling around or wallowing.

In usage, wälzte appears in narrative prose to describe past movement or action. For example, der Stein wälzte sich den Hang hinunter (the stone rolled down the slope) and Der Hund wälzte sich im Gras (the dog rolled around in the grass). The verb can convey physical motion as well as metaphorical uses, such as thinking through a problem or dwelling on an issue in a prolonged manner. The past participle of wälzen is gewälzt, which is used with haben to form perfect tenses, for instance ich habe gewälzt or er hat gewälzt, depending on the object and sentence structure.

Notes on form and nuance: wälzen shares core meaning with related expressions for rolling or tumbling, but its reflexive use sich wälzen is particularly common for living beings or for emphasizing the act of rolling itself. In non-reflexive contexts, the action is typically described as rolling or moving an object by turning over. The term appears across standard German usage and is recognizable in both historical and contemporary texts.

See also: wälzen.