Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
eitel. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
eitel, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
eitel in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
eitel you have here. The definition of the word
eitel will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
eitel, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
German
Etymology
From Middle High German ītel (“empty, void, vain”), from Old High German ītal (“empty”), from Proto-Germanic *īdalaz. Cognate with Luxembourgish eidel (“empty”), Dutch ijdel (“vain”), English idle.
Pronunciation
Adjective
eitel (strong nominative masculine singular eitler or (less common) eiteler, comparative eitler or (rare) eiteler, superlative am eitelsten)
- vain (overly proud of oneself, especially one’s outer appearance)
- Synonyms: eingebildet, selbstverliebt, kokett
Er ist so eitel, dass er kaum mal zwanzig Minuten nicht in den Spiegel gucken kann.- He’s so vain that he can barely go twenty minutes without looking into a mirror.
- (religion, otherwise dated) vain; void; futile (having no value or effect)
- Synonyms: nichtig, nutzlos, vergeblich
Der weltliche Genuss ist eitel und vergänglich.- Worldly pleasures are vain and fading.
- (formal, dated, uninflected) genuine; pure
- Synonym: lauter
Der Ring ist aus eitel Gold.- The ring is made of pure gold.
- (dated, uninflected) only; nothing but
- Synonym: bloß
- (dialectal, otherwise obsolete) empty
- Synonym: leer
Declension
Comparative forms of eitel
Superlative forms of eitel
Derived terms
Further reading