Hüne

See also: hune, huene, and Hune

German

Etymology

From German Low German Hüne (“giant, hulk”), from Middle Low German hǖne (“hulk; Hun”), ultimately from the self-designation of the historic Huns. Compare Middle High German hiune, hūne (“Hun; Hungarian”), from Old High German hūn (“Hun”).

The High German equivalent Heune became obsolete in Early Modern German and was superseded by the Latin-derived Ungar (“Hungarian”) and Hunne (“Hun”). However, Hüne remained common as a term for “giant, hulk” both in mythic and everyday contexts in many parts of northern Germany, whence it was reintroduced to the written language in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhyːnə/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Hüne m (weak, genitive Hünen, plural Hünen)

1. giant, hulk (tall man, typically also muscular)

   Drago, ein eiskalter Hüne mit über 2,00 m Körperlänge, ist eine mit stahlharten Muskeln bepackte Kampfmaschine.

   Drago, an ice-cold hulk of a man standing more than two metres tall, is a fighting machine packed with muscles of steel.

2. (mythology) giant

Declension

Declension of Hüne [masculine, weak]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Hüne	die	Hünen
genitive	eines	des	Hünen	der	Hünen
dative	einem	dem	Hünen	den	Hünen
accusative	einen	den	Hünen	die	Hünen

Related terms

• Hunne
• Hünenbett, Hünengrab, Hünenstein, Hinkelstein

Further reading

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