Heia

See also: heia

German

Etymology

Chiefly Central German word attested since the 18th century. Related to common lullaby verses like heia popeia. This is probably of mere interjectional origin, though some have ventured to derive it from Proto-Indo-European *ḱey- (“to lie down”), in which case it would be related with Heirat. The late attestation is only a weak counterargument in such a childish word; nevertheless the relation seems rather hypothetical.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhaɪ̯a/

• Audio

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Noun

Heia f (genitive Heia, plural Heias or Heia)

1. (childish) bed or sleep; beddy-bye

   in die Heia gehen ― to go to bed

   Zeit für die Heia ― time for bed / time for sleep

   Heia machen ― to sleep

Declension

Declension of Heia [feminine]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Heia	die	Heias, Heia
genitive	einer	der	Heia	der	Heias, Heia
dative	einer	der	Heia	den	Heias, Heia
accusative	eine	die	Heia	die	Heias, Heia

Further reading

• “Heia” in Duden online