Ferkel

German Etymology de ine-pro *perḱ- dig From de gmh verkelen, byform of gmh verhelīn, from de goh farhilī, goh farhilīn, diminutive of goh farah pig, from de gmw-pro *farh, from de gem-pro *farhaz (whence en farrow), from de ine-pro *pórḱos. The -k- has been explained as an irregular fortition of -h-, which would be plausible if the form were of Upper German origin, where -h- was strong and where there was dialectal variation between /rx/ and /rk/. However, gmh verkelen is first found in West Central German along the Rhine, where stem-internal -h- had been lost early on (gmh verlīn). It therefore seems at least equally probable that the -k- is due to influence by a related Rhenish word for “pig, piglet”, still found today in Ripuarian gmw-cfr Ferke, which goes back to a de frk *far(i)kīn (compare odt farkīn, odt ferkīn, whence modern nl varken), from gem-pro *farhikīną, another diminutive of gem-pro *farhaz. Pronunciation de /ˈfɛrkəl/ [ˈfɛʁ.kl̩] [ˈfɛɐ̯-] [-kəl] de De-Ferkel.ogg <<Germany>> (<<Berlin>>) Noun n chen,Ferklein piglet; a young/immature pig de pejorative a dirty or contemptible person de Stinktier Sau Declension n Derived terms de Hirschferkel Further reading de Pigs Baby animals