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-lein. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
-lein, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
-lein in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
-lein you have here. The definition of the word
-lein will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
-lein, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
German
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle High German -elīn, -līn, from Old High German -ilī, -ilīn, from Proto-West Germanic *-ilīn. Cognate to Dutch -lijn.
Pronunciation
Suffix
-lein n (plural -lein or -erlein or -leins)
- suffix used to create a diminutive form; e.g. Kind → Kindlein
Usage notes
- In contemporary Standard German, -lein is usual with words whose stems end in -ch or -g; thus more often Bächlein (“little brook”) than Bächelchen. There is a limited number of other forms that remain in common use, but for the most part -lein now has a poetic and archaic tone. The general diminutive suffix in the written language and in northern speech is -chen, while southern informal use prefers regional suffixes like -le, -li (Swabian/Alemannic) and -erl (Austro-Bavarian).
- Diminutives in -lein generally have umlaut. The endings -e, -en, -el are all deleted before the suffix.
- The plural remains unchanged. However, a few nouns with a plural in -er may carry the same ending over to the plural diminutive, and a few diminutives referring to people allow a plural in -s. This is common with Kindlein → Kinderlein and Fräulein → Fräuleins. Most other such forms are rare.
Derived terms
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References