Deich

See also: deich

German

Etymology

From Middle Low German dīk, from Old Saxon dīk, from Proto-West Germanic *dīk, from Proto-Germanic *dīkaz.
Originally the same word as Teich (“pond”). The sense “dike” spread via Low German, for which reason the form Deich is most often regarded as an artificial adaptation of Middle Low German dīk (“dike”) to the phonetic system of standard German. However, Deich is also the form natively developed in West Central German and it does mean “dike, dam, weir system” in most dialects of the Rhineland, particularly along the Lower Rhine. The supposition of an artificial adaptation is therefore possible but not inevitable.
Cognate to Dutch dijk, to West Frisian dyk, to English dyke, dike and to Saterland Frisian Diek.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /daɪ̯ç/

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪ̯ç

Noun

Deich m (strong, genitive Deiches or Deichs, plural Deiche)

1. dyke, dike; permanent dam

   Wenn der Deich bricht, wird das ganze Tal überflutet.

   If the dike breaks, the whole valley will be flooded.

   Zwölf Boxkämpfer jagen Viktor quer über den großen Sylter Deich.

   Twelve boxers chase Viktor across the big Sylt dike.

   (a German pangram)

Declension

Declension of Deich [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Deich	die	Deiche
genitive	eines	des	Deiches, Deichs	der	Deiche
dative	einem	dem	Deich, Deiche1	den	Deichen
accusative	einen	den	Deich	die	Deiche

¹Now rare, see notes.

Hyponyms

• Flussdeich
• Abschlussdeich
• Nordseedeich
• Seedeich
• Sommerdeich
• Winterdeich

Derived terms

• deichartig
• außendeichs
• binnendeichs
• eindeichen

Related terms

• Deichbau
• Deichbruch
• Deichfuß
• Deichgraf
• Deichkrone
• Deichwacht

Further reading

• “Deich” in Duden online
• “Deich”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎^[1] (in German)