zehntausenden

Zehntausenden is the dative plural form of Zehntausend, the German numeral for ten thousand. Used as a noun, Zehntausende denotes tens of thousands; Zehntausenden appears in contexts that require the dative case after prepositions (for example, aus Zehntausenden, unter Zehntausenden). The construction signals a rough numerical magnitude rather than an exact count and is common in journalism, history, and public discourse.

In ordinary usage, the base plural Zehntausende is found in the nominative or accusative, as in Zehntausende Demonstranten nahmen teil. When a dative form is required, Zehntausenden is used, for example in phrases like aus Zehntausenden von Stimmen or unter Zehntausenden von Zuschauern. Both Zehntausende and Zehntausenden are capitalized as nouns.

Usage and nuance: Zehntausenden functions to express a large, non-specific quantity. It appears frequently when describing crowds, support, casualties, or other phenomena where precise counting is impractical or not necessary. The term helps convey scale without committing to an exact figure, which can be important in reporting, analysis, or rhetoric.

Etymology and related forms: Zehntausend is a compound of Zehn (ten) and Tausend (thousand). The plural forms are Zehntausende (nominative/accusative) and Zehntausenden (dative). Related expressions include Zehntausende (tens of thousands) and general phrases for approximate quantities in German. See also Zehntausend, Zehntausende, and Mengenangaben.