Spiel

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See also: spiel

German

Etymology

From Middle High German spil, from Old High German spil, from Proto-West Germanic *spil (“dance”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʃpiːl/
  • Rhymes: -iːl
  • audio (Austria)(file)
  • Audio(file)

Noun

Spiel n (strong, genitive Spieles or Spiels, plural Spiele, diminutive Spielchen n or (Ruhrpöttisch) Spielken n)

  1. (countable) a game (instance or way of playing)
  2. (uncountable) gameplay, the experience or act of playing
    Synonym: Spielen
    im Spiel ― at play
  3. (uncountable, figurative) leeway; wiggle room
    Der Personaler sagte mir, beim Gehalt sei noch Spiel nach oben.
    The HR guy told me there was some leeway for a higher salary.
  4. (uncountable, mechanics) backlash; lash; play; slack
  5. (Switzerland) military band, marching band

Usage notes

  • German Spiel and especially its diminutive Spielchen are also used for an unstraightforward way of acting or maneuvering, as in Lass dich nicht auf seine Spielchen ein! (“Don’t get involved in his little games!”) The German word does not, however, have the specific sense of English spiel (“lengthy, persuasive speech”).

Declension

Declension of Spiel
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein das Spiel die Spiele
genitive eines des Spieles, Spiels der Spiele
dative einem dem Spiel, Spiele1 den Spielen
accusative ein das Spiel die Spiele

1Now rare, see notes.

Hyponyms

Derived terms

compounds

Further reading

Hunsrik

Pronunciation

Noun

Spiel n (plural Spiel)

  1. game, play

Derived terms

Further reading

Plautdietsch

Noun

Spiel f (plural Spielen)

  1. pinfeather
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