Vieh
German
Etymology
From Middle High German vihe, from Old High German fihu, Proto-Germanic *fehu, from Proto-Indo-European *peḱu- (“livestock, domestic animals”). Cognate to Low German Veeh, Dutch vee, English fee, Danish fæ.
Pronunciation
Noun
Vieh n (genitive Viehs or Viehes, no plural)
- (uncountable, collective) livestock; farm animals (animals kept for their milk, meat, skin, etc.)
- Das Vieh grast auf der Weide. ― The animals are grazing on the pasture.
- (countable, singulative) Alternative form of Viech (“animal, beast”)
- Wenn so ein Vieh vor einem steht, kommt man sich ziemlich klein und schwach vor.
- You feel pretty small and weak when such a beast is standing right in front of you.
- (countable, figurative, derogatory) beast; swine (person behaving in a boorish or inhumane way)
- Du Vieh! Wie kannst du nur! ― You beast! How dare you!
Declension
Usage notes
- Vieh is per se a collective noun (“livestock”), but is also sometimes used as a singulative (“animal”). For the latter case, however, there is no corresponding plural. Instead, a construction with Stück can be used: ein, zwei, drei Stück Vieh (“one, two, three head[s] of livestock”).
- In Upper German areas, the variant Viech is also used as a singulative of Vieh, whence the plural Viecher (“animals”). In the north, however, Viech is not used in this neutral way but only with a pejorative sense (“beast, pest”).
- In the figurative sense of “boorish, inhumane person”, an ad-hoc plural Viehe may be formed, but this is rare and nonstandard.
Derived terms
Related terms
Further reading
- “Vieh” in Duden online
Pennsylvania German
Etymology
From Middle High German vihe, from Old High German fihu, Proto-Germanic *fehu, from Proto-Indo-European *peḱu-. Compare German Vieh.
Pronunciation
Noun
Vieh n
Categories:
- German terms inherited from Middle High German
- German terms derived from Middle High German
- German terms inherited from Old High German
- German terms derived from Old High German
- German terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- German terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- German terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- German terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- German 1-syllable words
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio links
- Rhymes:German/iː
- German lemmas
- German nouns
- German neuter nouns
- German uncountable nouns
- German collective nouns
- German terms with usage examples
- German countable nouns
- German derogatory terms
- Pennsylvania German terms inherited from Middle High German
- Pennsylvania German terms derived from Middle High German
- Pennsylvania German terms inherited from Old High German
- Pennsylvania German terms derived from Old High German
- Pennsylvania German terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Pennsylvania German terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Pennsylvania German terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- Pennsylvania German terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Pennsylvania German terms with IPA pronunciation
- Pennsylvania German lemmas
- Pennsylvania German nouns
- Pennsylvania German neuter nouns
- Pennsylvania German collective nouns