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vermögen

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: vermogen and Vermögen

German

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Etymology

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From Middle High German vermügen, vermugen, from Old High German firmugan, firmagan, from Proto-West Germanic *framagan. Equivalent to ver- +‎ mögen.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [fɛəˈmøːɡŋ̩], [fɛɐ̯ˈmøːɡən]
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: ver‧mö‧gen

Verb

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vermögen (preterite-present, third-person singular present vermag, past tense vermochte, past participle vermocht, past subjunctive vermöchte, auxiliary haben)

  1. (transitive) to be able to; may [with zu (+ infinitive)]
    Das vermag ich nicht zu machen.
    I'm not able to do that.
  2. (transitive) to cause, to force, to impel [with accusative ‘someone’ and zu (+ infinitive) ‘to do something’]
    Synonyms: veranlassen, bewegen, bemüßigen, anmüßigen
    • 1792, Wilhelm von Humboldt, Ideen zu einem Versuch, die Gränzen der Wirksamkeit des Staats zu bestimmen[1], Breslau: Eduard Trewendt, published 1851, page 129:
      Je weniger der Mensch anders zu handeln vermocht wird, als sein Wille verlangt, oder seine Kraft ihm erlaubt, desto günstiger ist seine Lage im Staat.
      The less man is impelled to act asunder from what his will seeks or what his powers allow, the more favorable is his position in the state.

Conjugation

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Derived terms

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Further reading

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