Gevatter
Appearance
German
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle High German gevatere, gevater, gefater, from Old High German gifatero (“godfather”), from Proto-West Germanic *gafaderjō, equivalent to ge- + Vater. Cognate with Old English ġefædera (“godfather”), Middle Low German gevādere, Dutch gevader. Compare also Medieval Latin compater. It is unclear whether the Germanic words were calqued from the Latin, or vice versa (compare Late Latin compāniō).
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]Gevatter m (strong or mixed, genitive Gevatters or (uncommon) Gevattern, plural Gevatter or (uncommon) Gevattern, feminine Gevatterin)
- (archaic) godfather
- Synonym: Taufpate
- Gevatter Tod ― Death (literally, “godfather death”)
- 1835, Georg Büchner, Dantons Tod [Danton's Death][1], 1. Akt, 1. Szene:
- Und wenn auch! - den ehrlichen Leuten kann man Geld leihen, man kann bei ihnen Gevatter stehn und seine Töchter an sie verheiraten, aber das ist alles!
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- 1896, Theodor Fontane, chapter 24, in Effi Briest[2], Berlin: F. Fontane & Co.:
- Effi lachte herzlich und drückte dem Großvater in spe zunächst den Wunsch aus, bei beiden Enkeln zu Gevatter geladen zu werden, ließ dann aber die Familienthemata fallen […]
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- (by extension) friend, neighbour (especially as a term of address)
- 1799, Friedrich Schiller, Wallenstein's Lager [Wallenstein's Camp] (Wallenstein trilogy)[3], 10. Aufzug:
- Laß sie gehen! sind Tiefenbacher, / Gevatter Schneider und Handschuhmacher!
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- 1915, Paul Keller, Ferien vom Ich[4]:
- „Hören Sie mal, Gevatter“, sagte ich, „Sie foppen uns. Das Pferd hat viel Geld gekostet.“
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Declension
[edit]Declension of Gevatter [masculine, strong // mixed]
Derived terms
[edit]Further reading
[edit]Categories:
- German terms inherited from Middle High German
- German terms derived from Middle High German
- German terms inherited from Old High German
- German terms derived from Old High German
- German terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- German terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- German terms prefixed with ge-
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio pronunciation
- German lemmas
- German nouns
- German mixed nouns
- German masculine nouns
- German terms with archaic senses
- German terms with collocations
- German terms with quotations