backe

See also: backë and Backe

German

Pronunciation

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Verb

backe

1. inflection of backen:
   1. first-person singular present
   2. first/third-person singular subjunctive I
   3. singular imperative

Limburgish

Alternative forms

• bakke (Veldeke spelling, Eupen spelling)
• bake̩ (Rheinische Dokumenta spelling)

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *bakan, from Proto-Germanic *bakaną.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈba.kə/, [ˈbɑ.kə]
• Homophone: Backe
• Rhymes: -akə

Verb

backe (third-person singular present backt or bäckt, preterite bok or backde, subjunctive bök or bäckde, past participle gebacke, auxiliary han) (German-based spelling)

1. (ergative) to bake; to roast
2. (ergative, colloquial) to fry
3. (ergative, chiefly pottery) to fire
4. (intransitive) to stick together; to cake
5. (transitive) to stick (something to something else)
6. (intransitive, figuratively) to bake, to fry; to be affected by heat

Derived terms

• aafbacke
• aanbacke
• Back
• Backe
• Bäcker
• dörchbacke
• Geback
• Gebäck
• opbacke

Middle English

Noun

backe

1. alternative form of bak (“back”)

Pennsylvania German

Etymology

Compare German backen, Dutch bakken, English bake.

Verb

backe

1. to bake

Swedish

De rider mot en liten backe (en liten uppförsbacke) (sense 1)

Huset är byggt i en backe [or more idiomatically sluttning] (sense 2)

Etymology

From Old Norse bakki (“bank”), from Proto-Germanic *bankô.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

backe c

1. a hill (portion of a road or other path sloping lengthwise – compare kulle (“hill (elevated landmass)”))

   Synonyms: (downhill slope) nedförsbacke, (uphill slope) uppförsbacke

   Det är jobbigt att cykla uppför den branta backen

   It's strenuous to ride (a bike) up the steep hill

2. a slope, an incline (part of the ground that slopes – see also the usage notes for sluttning)

   Synonym: sluttning

   backen på sidan av kullen

   the slope on the side of the hill

   1. slopes (idiomatically, sometimes, in the context of ski slopes)

      en dag i backen

      a day on the slopes

      (literally, “a day in the slope”)

      • 1998, Jan Nordlund, Johan Lagerlöf, Jens Bergmark, Daniel Bäckström, Arijan Selami, Marko Lehtosalo, Stefan Enberg, “Vi drar till fjällen [We head off to the mountains]”‎^[1]performed by Markoolio [portmanteau of his first name Marko and the stage name of American rapper Coolio]; Elise Myrberg; Jemma Myrberg:

        Vi drar till fjällen. Fest hela kvällen. Ute och glider med snowboard och skidor. Vi drar till fjällen. Fest hela kvällen. Se upp i backen för finska attacken.

        We head off to the mountains [or "We're headin' for the mountains" or something colloquial like that]. Party [noun] all night [the whole evening]. Out sliding with snowboard and skis. We head off to the mountains. Party all night. Watch out on the slopes [the slope] for the Finnish attack.

3. (uncountable) (nearby) ground

   Synonym: (more general) mark

   Hon halkade och föll i backen

   She slipped and fell to the ground [could also be interpreted as "She slipped and fell on the hill/slope," though unlikely here]

   Vasen trillade i backen när de skulle bära in den

   The vase fell to the ground as they were carrying it in

   Tjuren frustade och stampade i backen

   The bull snorted and stomped the ground

5. (obsolete) a hill (elevated landmass)

   Synonyms: kulle, höjd

   över berg och backar

   over mountains and hills [still recognized as an expression]

   galgbacke

   gallows hill [site for execution by hanging, usually on a hill]

6. (obsolete) a burial mound

   Synonym: gravhög

Usage notes

• Sometimes appears in place names in the obsolete (sense 4), often in the plural "backar" (hills), usually meaning hilly terrain.
• See also the usage notes for sluttning.

Declension

Declension of backe

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	backe	backes
	definite	backen	backens
plural	indefinite	backar	backars
	definite	backarna	backarnas

Derived terms

• galgbacke
• kunna slå sig i backen på
• nedförsbacke
• på landbacken
• skidbacke (“ski slope”)
• stå som spön i backen
• uppförsbacke

Related terms

• backig

See also

• kulle (hill in the sense of elevated landmass)
• mark
• sluttning
• slänt

References

• “backe”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “backe”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “backe”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)