zappeln

== German == === Alternative forms === zabeln, zabbeln (now dialectal, otherwise obsolete) === Etymology === From Late Middle High German zappel(e)n (15th c.), from older zabel(e)n, from Old High German zabalōn (“to move, wriggle”), from Proto-West Germanic *tabulōn, an iterative-diminutive of Proto-Germanic *tabōną, whence English tave (“to struggle, wrestle”). Ultimately onomatopoeic, like younger tappen. In zab(b)eln, the short vowel was preserved under the influence of following -el-. Voiced obstruents in such position sporadically undergo secondary devoicing in High German (cf. doppelt, Zettel). On the other hand, the form zaplen is already attested in Parzival (early 13th c.), where it seems to be due to expressive intensivation. Both tendencies may have reinforced each other in this case. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈtsapəln/, [ˈt͡sa.pl̩n] Hyphenation: zap‧peln === Verb === zappeln (weak, third-person singular present zappelt, past tense zappelte, past participle gezappelt, auxiliary haben) to wriggle, to make fidgety movements (with the limbs and/or torso) ein zappelndes Baby ― a wriggling baby ==== Conjugation ==== ==== Derived terms ==== === Further reading === “zappeln”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎[1] (in German) “zappeln” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon “zappeln” in Duden online “zappeln” in OpenThesaurus.de