Spieß
See also: Spiess
Contents
German[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- Spiess (Switzerland, Liechtenstein)
Pronunciation[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From Middle High German spiȥ merged with spieȥ, the former from Old High German spiz, from Proto-Germanic *spituz. Compare Dutch and English spit, Swedish spett.
Noun[edit]
Spieß m (genitive Spießes, plural Spieße)
- spit (pointed rod)
- Heute Abend grillen wir Krabben am Spieß.
- Tonight we’ll grill crabs on the spit.
Declension[edit]
Declension of Spieß
Hypernyms[edit]
- (spit): Bratenspieß, Fleischspieß
Derived terms[edit]
Etymology 2[edit]
From Middle High German spieȥ, from Old High German spioz. The term Spieß goes back to the 16th century lansquenet mercenaries, when a noncommissioned officer armed with a pike (the Spieß) closely followed the troops to bring any soldiers who danced out of line back to reason with a swift blow. The name Spieß has stuck to this day, although his modern tasks are more of an administrative and social-services nature.
Noun[edit]
Spieß m (genitive Spießes, plural Spieße)
- pike (weapon)
- Luther Bible, Jesaja 2:4
- Da werden sie ihre Schwerter zu Pflugscharen und ihre Spieße zu Sicheln machen.
- and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks.
- Da werden sie ihre Schwerter zu Pflugscharen und ihre Spieße zu Sicheln machen.
- Luther Bible, Jesaja 2:4
- A rank in the German military, equivalent to company sergeant major in the British Army and first sergeant in the U.S. Army.
- Der Spieß ist Unteroffizier in einer Kompanie auf einem herausgehobenen Dienstposten.
- The Spieß is non-commissioned officer in a company in an important post.
- 1972, Heinrich Böll, Wo warst du, Adam?, p. 31
- »Der Befehl ist erst heute morgen gekommen, vor einer Stunde«, sagte der Spieß.
- “The order arrived only this morning, an hour ago”, said the Spieß.
- »Der Befehl ist erst heute morgen gekommen, vor einer Stunde«, sagte der Spieß.
- skewer, a tactic in the game of chess
- Durch einen Spieß setzte er den gegnerischen König ins Schach.
- With a skewer he put the opponent’s king in check.
Synonyms[edit]
- (weapon): Pike, Saufeder, Hellebarde
- (military rank): Kompaniefeldwebel (KpFw), Batteriefeldwebel (BttrFw) (artillery, air defense), Inspektionsfeldwebel (InspFw) (schools), Staffelfeldwebel (StffFw) (air force), Wachtmeister (marine), also frivolously “Mutter der Kompanie” (company mom)
Antonyms[edit]
Hypernyms[edit]
- (weapon): Jagdwaffe, Stichwaffe, Stoßwaffe, Waffe
- (military rank): Dienstposten
- (chess): Schachzug
Hyponyms[edit]
(weapon): Langspieß, Wurfspieß
Derived terms[edit]
References[edit]
- “Spieß” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “Spieß” in canoo.net
- “Spieß” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
Further reading[edit]
- Spieß in Duden online
Categories:
- German 1-syllable words
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms inherited from Middle High German
- German terms derived from Middle High German
- German terms derived from Old High German
- German terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- German lemmas
- German nouns
- German masculine nouns
- German terms with usage examples