Wicht

== German == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /vɪçt/ Rhymes: -ɪçt === Etymology 1 === From Middle High German wicht, from Old High German wiht (“creature, thing”), from Proto-West Germanic *wihti (“essence, object”). Cognate with Dutch wicht, English wight, Swedish vätte, and Icelandic vættur. ==== Noun ==== Wicht m or (obsolete) n (strong, genitive Wichts or Wichtes, plural Wichte or (archaic) Wichter, diminutive Wichtchen n or Wichtlein n) a small creature, particularly a goblin, sprite, leprechaun, kobold (of a child, mildly derogatory or endearing) a cheeky one; a rascal Synonym: Gör (of an adult, more derogatory) one who is mean but unimportant (derogatory) dwarf, little man ===== Usage notes ===== In contemporary German, Wicht is masculine with a plural Wichte. The neuter gender is obsolete. The plural Wichter is archaic as far as the simplex is concerned, but is still sometimes seen in the compound Bösewicht. Compare also etymology 2 below. ===== Declension ===== ===== Related terms ===== Bösewicht Wichtel === Etymology 2 === The same word as above, but in this use chiefly from Middle Low German wicht, from Old Saxon wiht. ==== Noun ==== Wicht n (strong, genitive Wichts or Wichtes, plural Wichter) (archaic, regional, northern and western Germany, not pejorative) a child or young person, chiefly and in some regions exclusively: a girl ===== Declension ===== === Etymology 3 === Borrowed from Middle Low German wicht, from Proto-West Germanic *wihti, from Proto-Germanic *wihtiz. ==== Alternative forms ==== Wechte, Wucht ==== Noun ==== Wicht f (genitive Wicht, plural Wichten) (rare, dated) alternative form of Wichte (“specific weight”) ===== Declension ===== === Further reading === “Wicht” in Duden online “Wicht”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎[1] (in German) “Wicht” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961. == Low German == === Alternative forms === wicht (Dutch Low Saxon) === Noun === Wicht n (plural Wichter) child Synonym: Kind (East Frisian) girl Synonyms: Mäken, Deern alternative letter-case form of wicht (“Dutch Low Saxon: daughter”) Synonym: Dochter == Plautdietsch == === Etymology === Ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *wihti (“weight”). === Noun === Wicht f (plural Wichten) weight stress ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ====