Tagged Questions

1
vote
1answer
129 views

Hat der “Rosenmontag” etwas mit Rosen zu tun?

Im Karneval wird der Rosenmontag als Tag vor dem Faschingsdienstag in großen Teilen der Republik mit Umzügen gefeiert: Bild vom Rosenmontagsumzug Nach Duden und nach Grimms Wörterbuch soll sich ...
4
votes
1answer
187 views

Did the gender of “Müll” change with its meaning?

Still in the 19. Century for "Müll" we have both, a neuter and a masculine gender whereas its gender today is masculine. Interestingly it also seems to have had a different meaning than today (trash, ...
8
votes
2answers
247 views

Did “zwo” exist before invention of radio?

Was "zwo" often or ever used before radio, or was it developed as a result of radio? Or has it just always been used around crowds and loud noises? And have other numbers ever had similar ...
6
votes
1answer
260 views

Why does “fliegen” not always happen in the air?

In German "fliegen" is quite often used in a context where it has nothing to do with flying like a bird or with a flight by an airplane. Kevin ist von der Schule geflogen. Morgen machen wir ...
6
votes
3answers
239 views

Do the noun 'Reich' and the adjective 'reich' have a common origin?

The adjective rich in present-day English used to be spelled rice in Old English and its meaning was then actually broader than it is today. For instance the adjective rice could mean "wealthy" as it ...
9
votes
2answers
342 views

Meaning of Mann as a tribe rather than a male individual

Everybody understands the substantive Mann as designating a male human individual. Some people might also be aware of the kinship between Mann and the verb to command, which crops up for instance in ...
12
votes
3answers
451 views

Neuter gender for nouns referring to children

In German we say der Mann/die Frau, but then we say das Kind/das Mädchen, so I got two questions: Are there particular historic and/or etymological reasons for this? "Das Mädchen" refers to a ...
13
votes
1answer
348 views

Does Swabian have English influences?

Many variations of the swabian dialect contain words and pronunciations that to me always subtly sounded like influenced by modern english. One of the more prominent examples is the pronunciation of ...