putzen

See also: Putzen

German

Etymology

15th century, also in the form butzen. Origin unknown. Perhaps derived from Middle High German butze (“lump, piece, stump”), from Proto-Germanic *buttaz (whence also English butt), but there are several other theories.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpʊtsən/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophone: Putzen

Verb

1. (transitive or intransitive) to clean, especially by rubbing with something wet
2. (reflexive, of an animal) to groom oneself
3. (reflexive, dated, of a person) to beautify oneself by washing, styling, and putting on fancy clothes

Synonyms

• (clean): sauber machen; (formal) säubern
• (beautify): sich schön machen, sich herausputzen; (informal) sich aufdonnern, sich auftakeln, sich aufstylen

Derived terms

• abputzen
• herausputzen
• Putzfrau, Putzmann
• Putzlappen

Descendants

• Dutch: poetsen
• Swedish: putsa

Further reading

• “putzen” in Duden online