zwischen

Bavarian

Etymology

From Middle High German [Term?], from Old High German in zuisken. Cognates include German zwischen and Luxembourgish zwëschen.

Pronunciation

• (Vienna) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡sβiʃn̩/
• Hyphenation: zwi‧schen

Preposition

zwischen

1. (Vienna, of location, + dative) between
   • 1938, Josef Weinheber, Wien wörtlich, Impression im März:

     Zwischen d'Bam palästern a påår Lackeln,
     g'schrian uns söig mit an Fetzenbålln

     Between the trees a few men play football,
     they're calling us, happy with a ball of scraps

2. (Vienna, of motion, + accusative) between

References

• Used in a usage example in Maria Hornung, Sigmar Grüner (2002) “Baⁿ”, in Wörterbuch der Wiener Mundart, 2nd edition, ÖBV & HPT

German

Etymology

From Old High German in zuiskēn, from Old High German zuiski, from Proto-Germanic *twiskaz (“twofold, double”), from Proto-Indo-European *dwís (“twice, doubly; in two”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtsvɪʃən/, [ˈtsʋɪʃən], [ˈtsʋɪʃn̩]

• Audio

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• Audio

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• Audio (Austria)

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Preposition

zwischen

1. between

   die Schere zwischen Arm und Reich

   the gap between the poor and rich

2. among, amongst

   Synonym: unter

   • 1990, “Zwei-plus-Vier-Vertrag [Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany]”, in Bundesgesetzblatt, part 2, page 1318:

     […] entschlossen, in Übereinstimmung mit ihren Verpflichtungen aus der Charta der Vereinten Nationen freundschaftliche, auf der Achtung vor dem Grundsatz der Gleichberechtigung und Selbstbestimmung der Völker beruhende Beziehungen zwischen den Nationen zu entwickeln und andere geeignete Maßnahmen zur Festigung des Weltfriedens zu treffen, […]

     […] resolved, in accordance with their obligations under the Charter of the United Nations to develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace; […]

Usage notes

The preposition zwischen is used with accusative case if the verb shows movement from one place to another, whereas it is used with dative case if the verb shows location.

Derived terms

• dazwischen

Related terms

• Zwischenfall, Zwischenlösung, Zwischenmahlzeit, Zwischenraum, Zwischenzeit
• inzwischen

Further reading

• “zwischen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “zwischen” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• Friedrich Kluge (1883) “zwischen”, in John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891