-keit
German
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Result of an etymologically wrong segmentation (rebracketing) of two suffixes in Upper German dialects of Middle High German: -ec (modern -ig) and -heit: -ec-heit was interpreted as -e-keit.[1] Later this phenomenon spread to other suffixes, and even to Central German dialects, in which the equivalents of -ig had never been pronounced with a final [k]-sound. (Compare the modern German Standard German pronunciation of -ig [-ɪç].) However, in some northern dialects of Central German, like Ripuarian, -keit is still absent or has only recently been introduced from standard German. Compare Saterland Frisian -igaid.
Pronunciation
[edit]Suffix
[edit]-keit f (genitive -keit, plural -keiten)
- Alternative form of -heit
- wirksam (“effective”) + -keit → Wirksamkeit (“effectiveness”)
Usage notes
[edit]- See -heit for notes on the use of the two variants.
Declension
[edit]Declension of -keit [feminine]
Derived terms
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Friedrich Kluge (1989) “-heit”, in Elmar Seebold, editor, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache [Etymological Dictionary of the German Language] (in German), 22nd edition, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN