petzen

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɛt͡sn̩/

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• Hyphenation: pet‧zen

Uncertain. Attested since the end of the 18th century, emerged in Halle, Germany, spread to all major German university cities by mid-19th century. Perhaps from Rotwelsch petzen, pezetten (“to report to the police, to betray”), from Yiddish (Pezet), (Peizaddik, “police”), from (pe, “p (letter name)”) + (zadik, “z (letter name)”) ("pz" for Polizei). Alternatively from Petze (“she-dog”), hence also the agent noun Petze (“tattler”).

petzen (weak, third-person singular present petzt, past tense petzte, past participle gepetzt, auxiliary haben)

1. (transitive, intransitive, derogatory, pupil slang) to tattle, snitch

• Petzen
• Petze
• Petzer
• verpetzen

Variant of pfetzen, from Middle High German pfetzen, of uncertain ultimate origin, but compare the origin of English pinch.^[1]

petzen (weak, third-person singular present petzt, past tense petzte, past participle gepetzt, auxiliary haben)

1. (regional) Alternative form of pfetzen (“to pinch, squeeze”)

• Petzen

• “petzen (Etymology 1)” in Duden online
• “petzen (Etymology 2)” in Duden online
• “petzen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “petzen” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.