Wimpel
See also: wimpel
German
Etymology
From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Germanic *wimpilaz; compare Old English wimpel.
Pronunciation
Noun
Wimpel m or n or f (genitive Wimpels or Wimpel, plural Wimpel or Wimpeln)
Usage notes
- Wimpel is one of a small number of German nouns which can or historically could have all three genders; see the appendix.
- The masculine gender has always been the most common; in the time of the Brothers Grimm, the use of the neuter gender was also common, but already by their time the use of the feminine gender was archaic.
- The choice of gender determines the noun's inflection: With masculine and neuter genders, the genitive form is (des) Wimpels. With the feminine gender it is (der) Wimpel.