Überführt

Überführt is the past participle of the German verb überführen. The word has two main uses: a legal/public-safety sense meaning to prove someone guilty or to bring a suspect to justice, and a logistical sense meaning to transfer or transport a person or goods from one place to another. Etymologically, it comes from über- “over” plus führen “to lead,” originally conveying the idea of leading someone over a boundary or across a threshold.

In legal usage, überführen refers to the process by which evidence, testimony, or investigation establishes a person’s guilt. The passive form is common in reporting: Der Verdächtige wurde überführt. It signals that culpability has been shown, though the final court outcome may be schuldig gesprochen after a trial.

In non-legal contexts, überführen denotes the physical movement or relocation of someone or something. Examples include: Der Gefangene wurde in eine andere Haftanstalt überführt, or Die Ware wird in das Ausland überführt. The term can also appear in broader speech to describe transferring a person from one position, role, or jurisdiction to another.

Related noun forms include Überführung, which can refer to the act of transporting or transferring, or in criminal-law contexts the process of bringing someone to justice. The term is neutral in tone, with meaning determined by context and accompanying phrases that indicate either legal procedures or physical movement.