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weihnachten. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
weihnachten, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
weihnachten in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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German
Etymology
Back-formation from Weihnachten, originally coined in 1862 by the poet Theodor Storm in the poem "Knecht Ruprecht".
Pronunciation
Verb
weihnachten (weak, third-person singular present weihnachtet, past tense weihnachtete, past participle geweihnachtet, auxiliary haben)
- (impersonal) to be nearly Christmas; to have a Christmassy atmosphere
Es weihnachtet sehr in der Altstadt!- It's very Christmassy in the old town!
1862, Theodor Storm, “Knecht Ruprecht”, in Leipziger Illustrierte Zeitung, number 39:Von drauß' vom Wald komm ich her;
ich muss euch sagen, es weihnachtet sehr!- From out in the woods I arrive;
I must say; it's very Christmassy!
2003, Johanna Pilz, Eine Frau Ganz Ohne Bedeutung, page 101:Es fehlte ihr der Baum. Es hat aber nie wieder geweihnachtet ohne Christbaum!- She noticed the tree was missing. It's never been Christmas without with a Christmas tree!
2011 December 5, Felix Knoke, “Netzwelt-Ticker: Facebook und Google suchen Anschluss”, in Spiegel:Es weihnachtet in den sozialen Netzwerken: Google und Facebook haben jetzt Programme vorgestellt, wie sich Web-Seiten und Surfer noch besser miteinander vernetzen lassen.- It's nearly Christmas on the social networks: Google and Facebook have presented programs to connect websites and surfers together better.
2011, Ute Nerge, Ein Regenbogen zu den Sternen:Jetzt weihnachtete es, und dieses besondere und oft emotionstragende Fest würde zu einer großen Herausforderung für uns alle werden.- Now it was nearly Christmas, and this special, often emotionally-loaded holiday would become a big challenge for us all.
Usage notes
- Used impersonally with es in the same way as in English ‘it rains’. Other forms are rare or nonexistent.
Conjugation
Conjugation of
weihnachten (
weak, auxiliary
haben)
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Composed forms of
weihnachten (
weak, auxiliary
haben)
Further reading