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Weib. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
Weib, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
Weib in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
Weib you have here. The definition of the word
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German
Etymology
From Middle High German wīp, from Old High German wīb, from Proto-West Germanic *wīb. Cognate with English wife.
Pronunciation
Noun
Weib n (strong, genitive Weibes or Weibs, plural Weiber, diminutive Weibchen n or Weiblein n)
- (now often derogatory) woman, broad
- (now archaic) woman, wife
So sprach er [...]: „Weib, meine letzte Stunde ist da; alle Schätze, so ich allein besaß, sind dein und deiner Tochter.“- So he said : "Wife, my last hour is here; all the treasures that I possessed of myself are yours and your daughter's."
- (Emanuel Schikaneder, Die Zauberflöte (libretto), act II, scene 8.)
Usage notes
- Weib cannot be a neutral term for “woman” in contemporary German (for that see Frau). Nonetheless, it is still rather a current word and may be more or less pejorative depending on context. It is most often heard among men, notably in the plural, in which case it has a macho ring to it, without being particularly abusive: Du weißt ja, wie die Weiber sind... (“Well, you know what women are like...”) Perhaps comparable to the use of broad in American English. Women may also use it among each other in a chummy tone: Wir Weiber müssen ja zusammenhalten. (“Us girls must stick together.”) Otherwise it is disrespectful and often combined with adjectives for stronger vilification, e.g. Dummes Weib! (“Stupid hag!”)
- In older German (well into the 19th century), Weib was a normal word for a woman, usually one of the “common people”, or someone's wife. This more neutral sense is still retained in many derived terms, particularly weiblich (“female”).
Declension
Derived terms
See also
Further reading
- “Weib” in Duden online
- “Weib” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
Hunsrik
Pronunciation
Noun
Weib n (plural Weiver)
- woman
Further reading
Pennsylvania German
Etymology
Compare German Weib, Dutch wijf, English wife.
Noun
Weib n (plural Weiwer)
- wife
- woman