degen

See also: Degen

English

Etymology 1

From German Degen (“dagger”).

Alternative forms

• degan, dagen

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdeɪɡən/
• Rhymes: -eɪɡən

Noun

degen (plural degens)

1. (obsolete, UK, thieves' cant) Sword.
   • 1828, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, chapter XXVIII, in Pelham: or The Adventures of a Gentleman‎^[1], volume 1, New York: J. & J. Harper, page 228:

     "Crash the cull—down with him—down with him before he dubs the jigger. Tip him the degen, Fib, fake him through and through; if he pikes we shall all be scragged."

Etymology 2

Clipping of degenerate.

Alternative forms

• dgen

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdiːd͡ʒɛn/

Adjective

degen (comparative more degen, superlative most degen)

1. (Internet slang) Degenerate.

Noun

degen (plural degens)

1. (Internet slang) A degenerate.
   • 2026 July 9, Nitsuh Abebe, “Has There Ever Been a Better Time to Be a ‘Degenerate’?”, in The New York Times‎^[2], →ISSN:

     Discussions of the word are littered with quotes from the Canadian comedy “Letterkenny,” whose rural Ontario characters are plagued by uncouth “degens from upcountry.”

Anagrams

• Gen Ed, Gen-ed, Gen. Ed., gen ed, gen. ed.

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdeː.ɣə(n)/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: de‧gen
• Rhymes: -eːɣən

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch degen, from Middle High German degen, itself borrowed from Old French dague (“dagger”).

Noun

degen m (plural degens, diminutive degentje n)

1. (fencing) epee
2. duelling sword, court sword (slender sword used in duels and battles; distinct from a rapier)

Derived terms

• de degens kruisen
• degenkrab
• degenkunst
• houwdegen

Descendants

• Afrikaans: degen
• Negerhollands: deegen
• → Papiamentu: degel (dated)
• → West Frisian: degen

Etymology 2

From Middle Dutch degen, deghen, from Old Dutch *thegen, from Proto-West Germanic *þegn, from Proto-Germanic *þegnaz, from Proto-Indo-European *tek-.

Cognate with German Degen, English thane, Icelandic þegn, Ancient Greek τέκνον (téknon).

Noun

degen m (plural degens, diminutive degentje n)

1. (archaic) hero, warrior, soldier

Middle High German

Etymology

From Old High German dëgan, from Proto-West Germanic *þegn, from Proto-Germanic *þegnaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (before 13^th CE) /ˈdɛɡən/

Noun

dëgen m

1. a warrior, a hero, a knight
2. a boy

Declension

Declension of dëgen (strong masculine without umlaut)

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	dër	dëgen	die	dëgen, dëgene
genitive	eines	dës	dëgens, dëgenes	dër	dëgen, dëgene
dative	eime	dëm	dëgen, dëgene	dën	dëgenen
accusative	einen	dën	dëgen	die	dëgen, dëgene

Descendants

• German: Degen

References

• Benecke, Georg Friedrich; Müller, Wilhelm; Zarncke, Friedrich (1863), “D00093”, in Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch: mit Benutzung des Nachlasses von Benecke, Stuttgart: S. Hirzel
• Köbler, Gerhard (2014), “dëgen”, in Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch‎^[3] (in German), 3rd edition

Swedish

Noun

degen

1. definite singular of deg