zwingen

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Contents

German [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From Middle High German twingen, from Old High German dwingan, from Proto-Germanic *þwinganan.[1] Cognates include Dutch dwingen, Norwegian tvinge, Swedish tvinga, Icelandic þvinga. The apparent "triple consonant shift", Germanic *þ > Old High German d > Middle High German t > German z, is very unusual, but each stage is clearly attested.

Pronunciation [edit]

  • IPA: /ˈtsvɪŋən/
  • Hyphenation: zwin‧gen
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Verb [edit]

zwingen (class 3 strong, third-person singular simple present zwingt, past tense zwang, past participle gezwungen, auxiliary haben)

  1. (transitive or reflexive) to force; to compel; to make (someone do something)
  2. (intransitive, with "zu ...") to necessitate; to call for

Conjugation [edit]

Related terms [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ “zwingen” in: Friedrich Kluge, “Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache” , 22. Auflage, 1989, bearbeitet von Elmar Seebold, ISBN 3-11-006800-1