Weib
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German[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle High German wīp, from Old High German wīb, from Proto-West Germanic *wīb. Cognate with English wife.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
Weib n (strong, genitive Weibes or Weibs, plural Weiber, diminutive Weibchen n or Weiblein n)
- (now often derogatory) woman, broad
- (now archaic) woman, wife
- So sprach er [...]: „Weib, meine letzte Stunde ist da; alle Schätze, so ich allein besaß, sind dein und deiner Tochter.“
- So he said [...]: "Wife, my last hour is here; all the treasures that I possessed of myself are yours and your daughter's."
- (Emanuel Schikaneder, Die Zauberflöte (libretto), act II, scene 8.)
Usage notes[edit]
- Weib usually cannot be a neutral term for “woman” in contemporary German (for that see Frau). Nonetheless, it is still rather a current word and may be more or less pejorative depending on context. It is most often heard among men, notably in the plural, in which case it has a macho ring to it, without being particularly abusive: Du weißt ja, wie die Weiber sind... − “Well, you know what women are like...” Perhaps comparable to the use of broad in American English. It might be used by a woman to convey an insulting tone: Dummes Weib! Wie konntest du das nicht wissen? − “Stupid woman! How could you not know that?”
- In older German (well into the 19th century), Weib was a normal word for a woman, usually one of the “common people”, or someone's wife. This more neutral sense is still retained in many derived terms, particularly weiblich (“female”).
Declension[edit]
Declension of Weib [neuter, strong]
Derived terms[edit]
Derived terms
See also[edit]
Further reading[edit]
Hunsrik[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
Weib n (plural Weiver)
Further reading[edit]
Pennsylvania German[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Compare German Weib, Dutch wijf, English wife.
Noun[edit]
Weib n (plural Weiwer)
Categories:
- German terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- German terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- 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-West Germanic
- German terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- German 1-syllable words
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- German terms with audio links
- Rhymes:German/aɪ̯p
- Rhymes:German/aɪ̯p/1 syllable
- German terms with homophones
- German lemmas
- German nouns
- German neuter nouns
- German derogatory terms
- German terms with archaic senses
- German terms with quotations
- de:Female people
- Hunsrik terms with IPA pronunciation
- Hunsrik lemmas
- Hunsrik nouns
- Hunsrik neuter nouns
- Pennsylvania German lemmas
- Pennsylvania German nouns
- Pennsylvania German neuter nouns