Schnurrbart

German

Etymology

A borrowing from German Low German Snurrbaart, equivalent to schnurren (“to purr”) +‎ Bart (“beard”), thus the "purring beard", perhaps owing to its tendency to rustle when its owner speaks or "purrs", or perhaps due to its resemblance to the whiskers of a purring cat. Compare Schnurrhaar (“whisker”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʃnʊʁˌbaːɐ̯t/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Noun

Schnurrbart m (strong, genitive Schnurrbartes or Schnurrbarts, plural Schnurrbärte, diminutive Schnurrbärtchen n)

1. moustache

   Synonyms: Oberlippenbart, Schnauzbart, Schnäuzer, Schnauzer m

Declension

Declension of Schnurrbart [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Schnurrbart	die	Schnurrbärte
genitive	eines	des	Schnurrbartes, Schnurrbarts	der	Schnurrbärte
dative	einem	dem	Schnurrbart, Schnurrbarte1	den	Schnurrbärten
accusative	einen	den	Schnurrbart	die	Schnurrbärte

¹Now rare, see notes.

Further reading

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