Geweih

German

Etymology

From Middle High German gewīge, *gewīhe (in hirzgewīh), ultimately:

• a collective derivation from an Old High German *wīa (“branch”), related with Proto-Slavic *věja (compare Slovene veja), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *woh₁y-éh₂ (“branch, twig”), see also Sanskrit वया (vayā́, “branch, twig”). The consonants -g-, -h- are then mere hiatus breakers.
• Alternatively a tool noun derived from Proto-Germanic *wiganą (“to fight”), whence Old English wīgan, related with German weigern (“to refuse”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡəˈvaɪ̯/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪ̯

Noun

Geweih n (strong, genitive Geweihs or Geweihes, plural Geweihe)

1. antlers, horns (of a deer etc.)

Usage notes

• The singular refers to one animal’s antlers as a whole. The plural refers to several animals or to different kinds.
• If it is necessary to refer to one of the two portions individually, this is called Geweihstange, in non-specialist use also Geweihhälfte.

Declension

Declension of Geweih [neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Geweih	die	Geweihe
genitive	eines	des	Geweihs, Geweihes	der	Geweihe
dative	einem	dem	Geweih, Geweihe1	den	Geweihen
accusative	ein	das	Geweih	die	Geweihe

¹Now rare, see notes.

Derived terms

• Arschgeweih
• Geweihschaufel
• Geweihstange

Descendants

• → Dutch: gewei
  • Afrikaans: gewei
  • → West Frisian: gewei

Further reading

• “Geweih” in Duden online
• “Geweih” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Geweih” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.