Unke

German

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Rotbauchunke

Etymology

From Middle High German unc, unke ‘snake, basilisk’, from Old High German unk, unko ‘snake’, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂n̥gʷʰ-, variant of *h₂engʷʰ- (compare Latin anguis, Lithuanian angìs). The sense may have been influenced by obsolete Eutze ‘toad’ (modern Bavarian Hötsch).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈʊŋkɛ/

Noun

Unke f (genitive Unke, plural Unken)

1. Fire-bellied toad, (genus Bombina)
   • 2005, Cornelia Funke, Tintenblut, ISBN 3-7915-0467-3

     Unkenaugen blickten ihn an aus einem fast menschlichen Antlitz, das lange Haar trieb im Wasser wie Gras, ebenso grün und fein.

     Toad-eyes looked at him from an almost human face, the long hair floated in the water like grass, just as green and fine.

Synonyms

• (archaic) Feuerkröte

Derived terms

• Gelbbauchunke
• Riesenunke
• Rotbauchunke
• Unkenruf