Affe

See also: affé

German

Etymology

From Old High German affo. The sense of temulence is traced to the late 18th^th century, allegedly playing on the homophony of Czech opice (“monkey or ape”) and opít se (“to get drunk”), though the image of a monkey being a possessing demon is translingual, and thus Spanish mona (“she-ape”) also means temulence, Spanish mono (“he-ape”) withdrawal symptoms, English monkey a drug compulsion.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈafə]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Affe m (genitive Affen, plural Affen, diminutive Äffchen n or Äfflein n, female Äffin)

1. monkey or ape (male or female of unspecified sex)
2. ellipsis of Fellaffe., a kind of furry military knapsack
3. (slang, regional) temulence, inebriation, alcohol intoxication
   • 2018, Daniel Tomazic, Kuhnles Gesetz: Ein badischer Heimatkrimi aus dem Mittleren Westen, page 10:

     Da war er auf dem Weinfest und hat sich am Stand der lokalen Winzergenossenschaft, da gab es für Mitglieder alles umsonst, einen granatenmäßigen Affen angesoffen.

     Then he was on the wine far and at the stall of the local vintner association, where all was free for members, he got plastered thoroughly.

Derived terms

• Affenbrotbaum
• Affenente
• Berberaffe
• Inselaffe
• Klammeraffe
• Lackaffe
• Maulaffe
• Menschenaffe (more precise term for “ape”)
• nachäffen
• Rhesusaffe

Further reading

• “Affe” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Affe” in Duden online

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Pennsylvania German

Noun

Affe

1. plural of Aff