gießen

• giessen (Switzerland, Liechtenstein)

From Middle High German giezen, from Old High German giozan, from Proto-West Germanic *geutan (“to pour”).

Akin to Dutch gieten, Old Saxon giotan, Old English ġēotan, Old Norse gjóta (whence Danish gyde, Swedish gjuta), Gothic 𐌲𐌹𐌿𐍄𐌰𐌽 (giutan). Compare English gush.

Further Indo-European cognates include Latin fundō (“to pour, to smelt”), Ancient Greek χέω (khéō, “to pour”) and Sanskrit जुहोति (juhóti, “he sacrifices”). More at geysa, yote and found.

The sense of pouring metals and glasses is attested since Old High German times through the participle gigozzan (“poured, smelted, made by casting”).^[1]

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡiːsən/, ,

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

gießen (class 2 strong, third-person singular present gießt, past tense goss, past participle gegossen, past subjunctive gösse, auxiliary haben)

1. (transitive) to pour; usually only of liquids, especially of large quantities

   Synonym: schütten (preferred with small quantities, also used of solids)

   Das Öl wird in die Tanks gegossen. ― The oil is poured into the tanks.

   Bleigießen ― lead-pouring

   die Blumen gießen - water the flowers

2. (transitive) to pour; to cast; to found (shape molten metal or glass by pouring)

   Die Statue wurde vom Künstler selbst gegossen. ― The statue was cast by the artist himself.

   Stahlgießen ― steel pouring

3. (transitive, horticulture) to water

   die Blumen gießen ― to water the flowers

   Gießkanne ― watering can

4. (impersonal, intransitive, of rain) to pour down; to rain strongly

   Synonym: schütten

   Es gießt. ― It’s pouring.

   Es gießt wie aus Kübeln/Eimern. ― It’s raining cats and dogs. (literally, “It’s pouring as though out of buckets.”)

Usage note: If you water the lawn you use the term "den Rasen sprengen"

• Guss

• “gießen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “gießen” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “gießen” in Duden online
• “gießen” in OpenThesaurus.de