gescheit
German edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Middle High German geschīde (“sensible, sly”). Related with scheiden (“to separate, distinguish”).[1] Based on the notion of “prudent, circumspect” it was associated with scheuen (“to shun, shy away”) and therefore frequently spelt gescheut. The -t thence and through generalisation of final devoicing. Cognate with Vilamovian gysiajt, Bavarian gscheid, and Swabian gscheid.
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
gescheit (strong nominative masculine singular gescheiter, comparative gescheiter, superlative am gescheitesten)
- (of people, actions) clever, intelligent, wise
- Synonyms: intelligent, klug, schlau, weise
- (informal, of things) reasonable, proper, decent, useful
- Synonyms: ordentlich, vernünftig
Usage notes edit
- The sense “clever” is used more in the southern half of German-speaking Europe. In the north, it is fairly rare and found chiefly in negation, e.g. nicht mehr gescheit sein (“to have lost one's mind”).
Declension edit
Positive forms of gescheit
Comparative forms of gescheit
Superlative forms of gescheit
Derived terms edit
References edit
- ^ Friedrich Kluge (1883) “gescheit”, in John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891
Further reading edit
- “gescheit” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
Luxembourgish edit
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
gescheit (masculine gescheiten, neuter gescheit, comparative méi gescheit, superlative am gescheitsten)
Declension edit
declension of gescheit
number and gender | singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | all genders | ||
predicative | hien ass gescheit | si ass gescheit | et ass gescheit | si si(nn) gescheit | |
nominative / accusative |
attributive and/or after determiner | gescheiten | gescheit | gescheit | gescheit |
independent without determiner | gescheites | gescheiter | |||
dative | after any declined word | gescheiten | gescheiter | gescheiten | gescheiten |
as first declined word | gescheitem | gescheitem |