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überlegen

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

German

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Etymology 1

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From Middle High German überlegen, past participle of überligen. By surface analysis, über +‎ legen.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˌʔyːbɐˈleːɡŋ̩/, /ˌʔyːbɐˈleːɡən/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Audio (Austria):(file)
  • Hyphenation: über‧le‧gen

Adjective

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überlegen (strong nominative masculine singular überlegener, comparative überlegener or überlegner, superlative am überlegensten)

  1. superior (higher in quality)
Declension
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Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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From Middle High German überlegen, from Old High German ubarleggen, from Proto-West Germanic *ubirlaggjan, from Proto-Germanic *uberlagjaną. Equivalent to über- +‎ legen. Cognate with Dutch overleggen and English overlay.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˌʔyːbɐˈleːɡŋ̩/, /ˌʔyːbɐˈleːɡən/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Audio (Austria):(file)
  • Hyphenation: über‧le‧gen

Verb

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überlegen (weak, third-person singular present überlegt, past tense überlegte, past participle überlegt, auxiliary haben)

  1. (transitive, dative reflexive) to think about, to think over
    Synonym: nachdenken
    Ich überlege es mir.I'll think about it.
    Ich habe es mir anders überlegt.I've changed my mind. (Lit. I've thought about it differently.)
Conjugation
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Derived terms
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Etymology 3

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18th century; über- +‎ legen. The sense of 'laying something over something' was present in the inseparable Middle High German überlegen (see etymology 2) and has shifted over to the separable verb.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈʔyːbɐˌleːɡŋ̩/, /ˈʔyːbɐˌleːɡən/
  • Hyphenation: über‧le‧gen

Verb

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überlegen (weak, third-person singular present legt über, past tense legte über, past participle übergelegt, auxiliary haben)

  1. (transitive or dative reflexive) to lay something over something, to cover something, to put on something
  2. (transitive, colloquial) to spank someone (by bending them over one's knee)
  3. (dative reflexive) to lean over something (e.g., a railing)
Conjugation
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Derived terms
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Further reading

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