Kueb

Luxembourgish

Etymology

Probably from a byform (*kope, *kobe) of Middle High German koppe (“crow, raven”), itself comparable to regional Dutch koop (“kite”), and perhaps further with West Frisian kob (“gull”), English cob (“gull; swan”).

In some neighbouring dialects of Moselle Franconian, the bird name coincides with pet forms of the name Jakob, which was traditionally given to tamed ravens in the German language area. In this case, interaction with the above Middle High German word is likely, but the details would need clarification.

Finally, Luxembourgish Kueb could stand for etymological *Kuerb, allowing for a derivation from Latin corvus (“raven”). However, many Moselle Franconian forms are unambiguously r-less, which makes this very unlikely.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kuə̯p]

Noun

Kueb m (plural Kueben)

1. crow, raven, jackdaw; a bird of the family Corvidae, chiefly a black one

Hyponyms

• Kréi (“magpie”)
• Ramm (“common raven”)

Further reading

• Kueb in the Lëtzebuerger Online Dictionnaire