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Bärendienst. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
Bärendienst, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
Bärendienst in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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Bärendienst, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
German
Etymology
From Bär (“bear”) + -en- + Dienst (“service”). Compare Swedish björntjänst, Danish bjørnetjeneste and similar forms in other languages. From the French fable L’Ours et l’Amateur des jardins by Jean de La Fontaine, in which a tame bear wants to do his master a favour by hitting a fly that has sat down on the master's forehead, but hits it so hard that both the fly and the master are killed.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈbɛːrənˌdiːnst/, /ˈbeːrənˌdiːnst/, /ˈbeːɐ̯nˌdiːnst/
- Hyphenation: Bä‧ren‧dienst
Noun
Bärendienst m (strong, genitive Bärendienstes or Bärendiensts, plural Bärendienste)
- disservice; mistaken favour, poisoned chalice (something that is done with the intention to help, but turns out to be detrimental)
2013 October 17, Tito Tettamanti, “Die Zukunftsforscher”, in Die Zeit:Forschung aber, die einer Ideologie dient, leistet der Sache einen Bärendienst.- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
2017 March 6, Vural Ünlü, “Die Auftritte türkischer Politiker werden überbewertet”, in Die Zeit:Mit der Forderung nach einem Wahlkampf- und Einreiseverbot türkischer Regierungsmitglieder erweisen Politiker dem Demokratieerhalt in der Türkei jedoch einen Bärendienst.- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
2021 August 31, Esther Geißlinger, quoting Steffen Regis, “Protest gegen Weiterbau von A20 und A26: „Sinnloses Dinosaurier-Projekt“”, in Die Tageszeitung: taz, →ISSN:Sie führt durch Moorgebiete, die CO2 binden und daher besonders wichtig sind, um die Klimaziele zu erreichen. Regis nannte den Bau der A20 „einen Bärendienst für die Verkehrswende im Norden“.- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Declension
Declension of Bärendienst
Derived terms
Further reading