bezitten

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch besitten, from Old Dutch besitten, from Proto-Germanic *bisitjaną (“to sit near, sit among”). Equivalent to be- +‎ zitten.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bəˈzɪtə(n)/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: be‧zit‧ten
• Rhymes: -ɪtən

Verb

bezitten

1. (transitive) to own, to possess

Usage notes

Although verbs with be- are generally transitive, the passive construction is usually avoided for similar reasons as in English as bezeten refers to demonic possession. A construction with in bezit is preferred:

• Het bedrijf bezit dit land ― The company owns this land.
• Dit land is in bezit van het bedrijf. ― This land is in the possession of the company.

Inflection

Conjugation of bezitten (strong class 5, prefixed)
infinitive	bezitten
past singular	bezat
past participle	bezeten
infinitive	bezitten
gerund	bezitten n
	present tense	past tense
1st person singular	bezit	bezat
2nd person sing. (jij)	bezit	bezat
2nd person sing. (u)	bezit	bezat
2nd person sing. (gij)	bezit	bezat
3rd person singular	bezit	bezat
plural	bezitten	bezaten
subjunctive sing.1	bezitte	bezate
subjunctive plur.1	bezitten	bezaten
imperative sing.	bezit
imperative plur.1	bezit
participles	bezittend	bezeten
1) Archaic.

Derived terms

• bezit
• bezitster
• bezittelijk
• bezitter
• bezitting
• bezeten
• bezetene

Related terms

• bezit
• bezitter

Descendants

• Afrikaans: besit