Seife

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German

Etymology

From Middle High German seife, from Old High German seifa, seiffa, from Proto-Germanic *saipǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *seyb- (“to pour out, dribble, strain, trickle”). Cognate with Dutch zeep, Low German Seep, West Frisian sjippe, English soap.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈzaɪ̯fə/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: Sei‧fe

Noun

Seife f (genitive Seife, plural Seifen)

  1. (uncountable) soap (substance)
    • 1929, Kurt Tucholsky, Das Lächeln der Mona Lisa (Sammelband), Ernst Rowohlt Verlag, page 104:
      Was hingegen die Reinlichkeit des Körpers betrifft, „so wäscht sich der Soldat nach dem Aufstehen mit kaltem Wasser und Seife Gesicht, Hals, Ohren, Brust und Achselhöhle, reinigt die Hände im Seifenwasser mit einer Handbürste und entfernt den Schmutz unter den Fingernägeln mit einer Nagelschere oder einem Nagelreiniger [...]“.
      On the other hand, concerning the cleanliness of the body, „the soldier washes, after getting up, with cold water and soap his face, neck, ears, chest and armpit, cleans the hands in the soap water with a hand brush and removes the dirt under the fingernails with nail scissors or a nail cleaner [...]“
  2. (countable) A piece of soap.
  3. (countable) A particular sort of soap.

Declension

Template:de-decl-noun-f

Synonyms

  • (piece of soap): Stück Seife (commoner)

Derived terms

Further reading

  • “Seife” in Duden online
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