tide / time
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tides
The regular rising and falling of sea level caused by the gravitational forces of the moon and the sun. A distinction is made between 'Ebbe' (ebb tide, receding water) and 'Flut' (flood tide, incoming water). The word is used almost exclusively in the plural.
An der Nordsee muss man bei einer Wattwanderung immer die Gezeiten beachten.
On the North Sea, you always have to pay attention to the tides when hiking across the mudflats.
time / era
An outdated or poetic term for a specific period of time, an era, or a season.
In finsterer Gezeit wartete das Volk auf bessere Tage.
In a dark time, the people waited for better days.
The word 'Gezeit' is closely related to 'Zeit' (time). The prefix 'Ge-' here suggests a recurring, completed period of time, which fits well with the rhythm of ebb and flood tide.
Die Gezeiten sind ein ewiger Kreislauf der Zeit am Meer.
The tides are an eternal cycle of time by the sea.
In the meaning 'Tide' (tide), this word is used almost exclusively in the plural 'die Gezeiten' (the tides). The singular 'die Gezeit' is very rare in this context.
Die Gezeiten bestimmen das Leben an der Küste.
The tides determine life on the coast.
The two phases of the tides are called 'Ebbe' (ebb tide; the water goes out) and 'Flut' (flood tide; the water comes in). A typical phrase is 'der Rhythmus der Gezeiten' (the rhythm of the tides).
Ebbe und Flut sind die zwei Seiten der Gezeiten.
Ebb and flood tide are the two sides of the tides.
The meaning 'Epoche' (era) or 'Zeitabschnitt' (period of time) is outdated and today is used only in poetic or very elevated language to create a special historical mood.
Es war eine düstere Gezeit voller Unsicherheit und Angst.
It was a dark time full of uncertainty and fear.
time
Both die Zeit and die Gezeit can refer to a period of time or an era. Zeit is the usual modern word for this. In this meaning, Gezeit sounds outdated or poetic and therefore fits only when a text is deliberately meant to sound that way.
In jener Gezeit lebten viele Menschen auf dem Land.
Many people lived in the countryside during that era.
In dieser Zeit lebten viele Menschen auf dem Land.
Many people lived in the countryside during this period.
