Geschwister

German

Etymology

From Middle High German geswister, from Old High German giswestar, equivalent to ge- +‎ Schwester. Compare Old Saxon gisustrōni (“sibling”), Old Frisian swesterne, susterne, sisterne (“siblings”), Old English ġesweostren (“maternal cousin, sister”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡəˈʃvɪstər/, [ɡəˈʃʋɪs.tɐ]

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Ge‧schwis‧ter
• Rhymes: -ɪstɐ

Noun

Geschwister n (strong, genitive Geschwisters, plural Geschwister, diminutive Geschwisterchen n)

1. (chiefly in the plural) sibling

Usage notes

• The backformed singular das Geschwister is uncommon and very rare. It is replaced with the diminutive Geschwisterchen or the compound Geschwisterkind, both of which are generally restricted to children, however. Accordingly there is no gender-neutral word for an adult sibling.
• An alternative singular das Geschwist may also be backformed, but this is equally rare and chiefly jocular.

Declension

Declension of Geschwister [neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Geschwister	die	Geschwister
genitive	eines	des	Geschwisters	der	Geschwister
dative	einem	dem	Geschwister	den	Geschwistern
accusative	ein	das	Geschwister	die	Geschwister

Derived terms

• Geschwisterchen
• Geschwisterkind

Further reading

• “Geschwister” in Duden online
• “Geschwister” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache