Schlemihl

See also: schlemihl

German

Etymology

19th century, from Yiddish שלימיל (shlimil). Further origin uncertain; see the Yiddish for more.

The rather odd spelling with -ih- follows the use of Adelbert von Chamisso in his well-known novella Peter Schlemihl (1813). Von Chamisso probably avoided Schlemiel because it could have suggested a trisyllabic pronunciation as in Gabriel (though he might have spelt *Schlemil).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʃleːmiːl/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

Schlemihl m (strong, genitive Schlemihls, plural Schlemihle)

1. schlemiel

Declension

Declension of Schlemihl [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Schlemihl	die	Schlemihle
genitive	eines	des	Schlemihls	der	Schlemihle
dative	einem	dem	Schlemihl	den	Schlemihlen
accusative	einen	den	Schlemihl	die	Schlemihle

See also

• Schlamassel