äckel

Swedish

Han känner äckel (He feels disgust) / Han är äcklad (He is disgusted)

De känner äckel (They feel disgust)

Etymology

From German Ekel.

Attempts to connect with words beyond German have proven futile. Examples include Old English ācol, Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐍅𐌹𐍃𐌺𐌹 (aiwiski), Latin aeger, Old Norse eikinn (“furious”), Sanskrit एजति (ejati, “move; shake; stir”).

Noun

äckel n

1. disgust (queasy feeling, like at something potentially contagious, sometimes more or less figuratively)
2. something disgusting (like a substance or activity or the like)
3. (colloquial) a lewd or disgusting person

   Vilket äckel!

   What a creep / disgusting person!

   Rör mig inte, ditt äckel!

   Don't touch me, you creep!

Usage notes

For moral disgust, a word like avsky is often better. Äckel more strongly implies a queasy reaction compared to disgust. Compare the second image.

Declension

Declension of äckel

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	äckel	äckels
	definite	äcklet	äcklets
plural	indefinite	äckel	äckels
	definite	äcklen	äcklens

Derived terms

• äckelgubbe
• äckelpäckel (“something disgusting”)

Related terms

• äckla (“to disgust”)
• äcklig (“disgusting”)

See also

• avsky
• avsmak
• motvilja
• vämjelse

References

• “äckel”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “äckel”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• äckel in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)