eitel

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See also: Eitel

German

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Etymology

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From Middle High German ītel (empty, void, vain), from Old High German ītal (empty), from Proto-Germanic *īdalaz. Cognate with Luxembourgish eidel (empty), Dutch ijdel (vain), English idle.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈaɪ̯təl/, [ˈʔaɪ̯təl], [ˈʔaɪ̯tl̩]
  • Audio:(file)

Adjective

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eitel (strong nominative masculine singular eitler or (less common) eiteler, comparative eitler or (rare) eiteler, superlative am eitelsten)

  1. vain (overly proud of oneself, especially one’s outer appearance)
    Synonyms: eingebildet, selbstverliebt, kokett
    Er ist so eitel, dass er kaum mal zwanzig Minuten nicht in den Spiegel gucken kann.
    He’s so vain that he can barely go twenty minutes without looking into a mirror.
  2. (religion, otherwise dated) vain; void; futile (having no value or effect)
    Synonyms: nichtig, nutzlos, vergeblich
    Der weltliche Genuss ist eitel und vergänglich.
    Worldly pleasures are vain and fading.
  3. (formal, dated, uninflected) genuine; pure
    Synonym: lauter
    Der Ring ist aus eitel Gold.
    The ring is made of pure gold.
  4. (dated, uninflected) only; nothing but
    Synonym: bloß
  5. (dialectal, otherwise obsolete) empty
    Synonym: leer

Declension

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Derived terms

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Further reading

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