411 REFERENCE · Wiktionary
Geißel
Reference material by Wiktionary contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
Geissel
German
Alternative forms
de Geissel Switzerland Liechtenstein
de Geisel scourge before c1900
Pronunciation
de /ˈɡaɪ̯səl/
de De-Geißel.ogg <<Germany>> (<<Berlin>>)
Etymology 1
From de gmh geisel geisel(e), from de goh geisila whip. Cognate with nl gesel. The spelling with -ß- reflects sporadic devoicing; compare the frequent pronunciations of de niesen or de Preiselbeere. Its use for distinguishing between de Geißel and de Geisel hostage is an arbitrary convention, which fully established itself only around 1900. (The two words are not related but became merged in Early Modern German.)
Noun
f
de Southern Germany Austria Switzerland de Peitsche whip
de elsewhere only scourge whip used for flagellation
de figurative scourge persistent source of harm, especially when seen as divine punishment
de Plage Heimsuchung
de biology flagellum
Declension
f
Derived terms
de begeißelt Geißelhieb geißeln Geißel der Menschheit
Etymology 2
See the main lemma.
Noun
f or m
de Obsolete form (now misspelling) Geisel hostage
Further reading