ballern

German

Etymology

From Late Middle High German bollern, from Middle Low German balderen, (with Low German -ld- → -ll-). Compare Dutch bolderen and bulderen. However, independent onomatopoeia is equally possible. The football sense via “to shoot” and through secondary association with Ball (“ball”). See also Bollerwagen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbalɐn/

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

1. to bang (make a loud, dull sound)
2. (colloquial) to shoot, particularly: to be trigger-happy
3. (soccer) to hammer (shoot hard)

Derived terms

• Ballerei
• Ballerer
• Ballermann
• Ballern
• Geballer
• verballern

 

Further reading

• “ballern” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “ballern” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.