erschließen

to infer, to deduce; to open up (meaning)

verb er-SHLEES-en Rare

Also means

to develop (land)

Usage Note

erschließen in a cognitive sense means to unlock meaning or to derive something through reasoning — einen Text erschließen (to work out the meaning of a text), sich erschließen (to become clear to one). Common in academic discourse.

Examples

"Der Sinn des Gedichts erschloss sich ihr erst beim zweiten Lesen."

Natural Translation

The meaning of the poem only became clear to her on second reading.

Literal Translation

The meaning of the poem opened-up itself to her only at the second reading.

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