mündig

German

Etymology

From an earlier Munt, from Proto-Germanic *mundō. The retention of /d/ in the combination /nd/ is a signature of northern High German dialects and only becomes widespread after a period in the Middle Ages where the southern reflex /nt/ is favoured in southern writings.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

mündig (comparative mündiger, superlative am mündigsten)

1. (not comparable) of age
   • 1914, Erich Mühsam, Idealistisches Manifest, in: Alarm. Manifeste aus 20 Jahren, Der Syndikalist, page 52:

     Die Jugend, der Nachwuchs, die kommende Generation hat sich mündig erklärt. Das Alter ist nicht berechtigt, mit seinen überlebten, verknöcherten Prinzipien daran zu rütteln.

     The youth, the offspring, the coming generation declared itself of age. The aged are not entitled, with their outdated, ossified principles, to question it.

2. mature

Derived terms

• entmündigen
• Mündigkeit

Further reading

• “mündig” in Duden online