Schmetterling
German
Etymology
Attested ca. 1500, standard since the 18th century. From an East Central German dialect word, equivalent to Schmetten (“cream”) + -ling, due to an old belief that butterflies eat milk products or, in a more ornamented form, that witches transform themselves into butterflies in order to steal such products.[1] Compare English butterfly.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈʃmɛtərlɪŋ/, [ˈʃmɛ.tɐ.lɪŋ]
audio (Germany) (file)
Noun
Schmetterling m (strong, genitive Schmetterlings or Schmetterlinges, plural Schmetterlinge)
- (in common use) butterfly
- Synonyms: Tagfalter, (Switzerland) Sommervogel, (obsolete) Buttervogel, Butterfliege
- (chiefly biology) any insect of the order Lepidoptera, i.e. a butterfly or moth
- Synonym: Falter
- (swimming) butterfly (kind of stroke)
- Synonym: Delphin
Declension
Declension of Schmetterling [masculine, strong]
| singular | plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| indef. | def. | noun | def. | noun | |
| nominative | ein | der | Schmetterling | die | Schmetterlinge |
| genitive | eines | des | Schmetterlings, Schmetterlinges | der | Schmetterlinge |
| dative | einem | dem | Schmetterling, Schmetterlinge1 | den | Schmetterlingen |
| accusative | einen | den | Schmetterling | die | Schmetterlinge |
1Now uncommon, see notes.
Derived terms
Derived terms
- Schmetterlingsblütler
- Schmetterlingsfisch
- Schmetterlingsflügel
- Schmetterlingsnetz
- Schmetterlingsraupe
- Schmetterlingsstil
See also
References
- Schmetterling, in: W. Pfeifer et al., Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 1993.
Further reading
- “Schmetterling” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “Schmetterling” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
- “Schmetterling” in Duden online
Schmetterling on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia de
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