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German
Etymology
From Middle High German kochen, from Old High German kohhōn, from Proto-West Germanic *kokōn (“to cook”).
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This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “Sense development -- at what point in the evolution from Proto-West Germanic *kokōn (“to cook”, in general) did this term get the much more limited and specific sense of "to boil"?”
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Pronunciation
Verb
kochen (weak, third-person singular present kocht, past tense kochte, past participle gekocht, auxiliary haben)
- (intransitive, of a person) to cook, to prepare food (chiefly hot food for lunch or supper)
- (transitive, of a person) to cook something (in a) liquid (e.g. soup, chili, spaghetti)
- to boil
- (intransitive, of a liquid) (to reach the boiling point)
- (transitive) (to heat a liquid until it boils)
- (intransitive, figuratively) to be stirred up or agitated, especially with anger
Usage notes
- Intransitive kochen can be used for all sorts of food preparation that require at least some amount of work and effort. However, there is a strong tendency to use the verb only for the preparation of a proper dinner, be it lunch or supper. Hence, the preparation of, say, an onion tart for dinner is kochen, even though the food is baked. Contrarily, the preparation of breakfast is only rarely called kochen even if eggs are boiled in the process.
- Transitive kochen can generally be used only for actual boiling. Hence, ein Steak kochen (“to cook a steak”) would be understood solely as dropping a steak into a pot of boiling water.
Conjugation
Conjugation of
kochen (
weak, auxiliary
haben)
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Composed forms of
kochen (
weak, auxiliary
haben)
Synonyms
- (of a liquid: to boil): sieden
- (make a liquid boil): sieden
- (prepare food in boiling liquid): garen (broader)
Derived terms
See also
Further reading
- “kochen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “kochen” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
- “kochen” in Duden online
- “kochen” in OpenThesaurus.de