Binse

See also: binse

German

Etymology

From Middle High German bineʒ, from Old High German binuz, further origin obscure, only West Germanic. The idiom “in die Binsen gehen” is explained from the idea of hunted game being lost when the deer has alighted in the plants. It occurs also with Wicken.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɪnzə/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Bin‧se

Noun

Binse f (genitive Binse, plural Binsen)

1. bent (grass)
2. (regional, colloquial) state of failure, wreckedness, almost exclusively in the following construction:

   Der Motor ist in die Binsen gegangen. ― The motor has given up.

   Das Geld ist in die Binsen gegangen. ― The money is gone.

Derived terms

• Binsengras
• Binsenweisheit
• Blumenbinse

 

Further reading

• “Binse” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Binse” in Duden online
• Binsen on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^de