Wendehals
German
Etymology
wenden (“turn around”) + Hals (“neck”)
Pronunciation
Audio: (file)
Noun
Wendehals m (genitive Wendehalses, plural Wendehälse)
- The Eurasian wryneck(Please check if this is already defined at target. Replace
{{vern}}
with a regular link if already defined. Add novern=1 if not defined.) (Jynx torquilla). - An opportunist, a person with no principles.
- (politics) A political opportunist after a regime change, particularly a communist in East Germany who switched to supporting capitalism after German reunification.
Declension
Descendants
- Russian: вертише́йка (vertišéjka) (calque)
Further reading
- “Wendehals” in Duden online