Esel

See also: esel and æsel

Alemannic German

Etymology

From Middle High German esel, from Old High German esil, from Proto-West Germanic *asil, a borrowing from Late Latin asellus.

Noun

Esel m

1. (Uri) ass, donkey

References

• Abegg, Emil, (1911) Die Mundart von Urseren (Beiträge zur Schweizerdeutschen Grammatik. IV.) [The Dialect of Urseren], Frauenfeld, Switzerland: Huber & Co., page 76.

German

Etymology

From Middle High German esel, from Old High German esil, from late Proto-West Germanic *asil, which is borrowed from Late Latin asellus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈeːzəl/, [ˈʔeː.zl̩], [-zəl]

• Audio (Austria):

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Esel m (strong, genitive Esels, plural Esel, diminutive Eselchen n or Eselein n, feminine Eselin)

1. ass, donkey
2. (figurative) a stupid person
3. (figurative, chiefly with some adjective such as störrisch) a stubborn person

Declension

Declension of Esel [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Esel	die	Esel
genitive	eines	des	Esels	der	Esel
dative	einem	dem	Esel	den	Eseln
accusative	einen	den	Esel	die	Esel

Derived terms

• der Esel geht immer voran
• der Esel nennt sich immer zuerst
• ein Esel schilt den andern Langohr
• Eselsbrücke f
• Goldesel
• Eselsohr
• wenn es dem Esel zu wohl ist, geht er aufs Eis tanzen

Descendants

• → Estonian: eesel (or from Middle Low German)
• → Lower Sorbian: ezel
• → Tok Pisin: esel

Further reading

• “Esel” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Esel” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “Esel” in Duden online
• Esel on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^de

Pennsylvania German

Etymology

From Middle High German esel, from Old High German esil, from Proto-West Germanic *asil. Compare German Esel, Dutch ezel.

Noun

Esel m (plural Esel)

1. ass, mule

Synonyms

• Langohr