opzoomeren

Dutch

FWOTD – 20 December 2019

Alternative forms

• Opzoomeren, opzomeren

Etymology

From Opzoomer(straat) +‎ -en, the name of the street in Rotterdam where the concept originated. The word is commonly interpreted as consisting of zomer +‎ op- -en, “to summer up” (whence the separable conjugation and alternative spelling opzomeren), even though the street name (named after the 19th-century philosopher Cornelis Willem Opzoomer) in fact derives from the surname Opzoomer, which is ultimately traced back to the etymologically different toponym Bergen op Zoom.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɔpˌzoː.mə.rə(n)/
• Hyphenation: op‧zoo‧me‧ren

Verb

opzoomeren

1. (chiefly Rotterdam) to increase the quality of life and social cohesion in a residential street, especially in poorer areas, through communally organized initiatives such as social events and beautification projects [from c. 1990]
   • 2004, Karin van Doorn, Empowerment: over laten en doen, p. 37:

     De auteurs van het onderzoek schetsen opzoomeren als een 'stille kracht'. Er gaan geen miljarden in om zoals bij de herstructurering van wijken, maar als ontmoetingsbeleid is opzoomeren minstens zo effectief, zo niet effectiever.

     The authors of the research describe opzoomeren as a 'silent force'. It does not involve billions [of euros] as is the case in the restructuring of neighborhoods, but as a social policy opzoomeren is at least as effective, if not more so.

Conjugation

Rarely conjugated as a nonseparable verb (past participle geopzoomerd), reflecting the word's etymology.

Conjugation of opzoomeren (weak, separable)
infinitive	opzoomeren
past singular	zoomerde op
past participle	opgezoomerd
infinitive	opzoomeren
gerund	opzoomeren n
	main clause		subordinate clause
	present tense	past tense	present tense	past tense
1st person singular	zoomer op	zoomerde op	opzoomer	opzoomerde
2nd person sing. (jij)	zoomert op, zoomer op2	zoomerde op	opzoomert	opzoomerde
2nd person sing. (u)	zoomert op	zoomerde op	opzoomert	opzoomerde
2nd person sing. (gij)	zoomert op	zoomerde op	opzoomert	opzoomerde
3rd person singular	zoomert op	zoomerde op	opzoomert	opzoomerde
plural	zoomeren op	zoomerden op	opzoomeren	opzoomerden
subjunctive sing.1	zoomere op	zoomerde op	opzoomere	opzoomerde
subjunctive plur.1	zoomeren op	zoomerden op	opzoomeren	opzoomerden
imperative sing.	zoomer op
imperative plur.1	zoomert op
participles	opzoomerend	opgezoomerd
1) Archaic. 2) In case of inversion.