Büttel

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbʏtəl/, [ˈbʏ.tl̩]

• Audio (Berlin)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Büt‧tel

Etymology 1

From Middle High German bütel, butel, from Old High German butil (“court official, messenger”), from Proto-West Germanic *budil, from Proto-Germanic *budilaz (“herald, messenger”), from Proto-Germanic *beudaną (“to announce, present, offer”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewdʰ- (“to make aware”). Akin to Swedish bödel and Old English bydel (“beadle”). More at beadle.

Noun

Büttel m (strong, genitive Büttels, plural Büttel)

1. (historical) a court officer, usher, messenger

   Synonyms: Amtsdiener, Gerichtsdiener

2. (figurative) a lackey, stooge, one who is servile and/or performs menial service

   Synonyms: Lakai, Laufbursche, Handlanger, Knecht, Scherge

   Ich bin doch nicht dein Büttel! ― I'm not your servant!

   Europa macht sich zum Büttel amerikanischer Machtpolitik.

   Europe makes itself a stooge of American power politics.

3. (rare, derogatory) a policeman

Declension

Declension of Büttel [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Büttel	die	Büttel
genitive	eines	des	Büttels	der	Büttel
dative	einem	dem	Büttel	den	Bütteln
accusative	einen	den	Büttel	die	Büttel

Derived terms

• Gebüttel

Etymology 2

Proper noun

Büttel n (proper noun, genitive Büttels or (optionally with an article) Büttel)

1. A municipality of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Further reading

• “Büttel” in Duden online
• “Büttel” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Büttel” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.