trocken

German

Etymology

From Middle High German trucken, trocken, from Old High German truckan, trokkan (“dried out, parched, thirsty, dry”), from Proto-Germanic *druknaz, *druhnaz (“dry”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerǵʰ- (“to strengthen; become hard or solid”), from *dʰer- (“to hold, hold fast, support”). The form trucken was originally predominant, but the word eventually became standardized in an old western variant with -o-. Cognate with Old Saxon drokno (“dry”, adverb), Old English ġedrycnan (“to dry up”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtʁɔkən/, [ˈtʁɔkən], [ˈtʁɔkŋ̩]

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

trocken (comparative trockener, superlative am trockensten)

1. dry (not wet; lacking water)
2. (wine) dry (not sweet)
3. (person) dry (abstinent after having had an alcohol problem)
4. (joke) dry (subtly humorous, and often mildly rude)
5. dry (dull, boring)

Antonyms

• (not wet): feucht; nass
• (not sweet): lieblich; halbtrocken

Derived terms

• trocknen
• Trockeneis

Further reading

• “trocken” in Duden online