quälen

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See also: Qualen

German

Etymology

From Middle High German queln, from Old High German quellen, from Proto-West Germanic *kwalljan, from Proto-Germanic *kwaljaną. The vowel was lengthened in modern German under the influence of the related noun Qual. Cognates include Dutch kwellen, English quell, Old Norse kvelja, and further Old Church Slavonic жаль (žalĭ, pain), Old Armenian կեղ (keł, sore, ulcer).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈkvɛːlən/, , (standard; especially western Germany, Switzerland)
  • IPA(key): /ˈkveːlən/ (alternative standard; chiefly northern and eastern regions)
  • Audio:(file)

Verb

quälen (weak, third-person singular present quält, past tense quälte, past participle gequält, auxiliary haben)

  1. (transitive) to torture, to torment, to agonize
  2. (transitive) to cause sorrow, to upset, to worry
  3. (transitive) to harass, to bother
  4. (reflexive) to toil, to struggle

Conjugation

Derived terms

Further reading

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