German edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

16th c., borrowed from Low German sacht, sachte (soft), from Middle Low German sachte, from Old Saxon *sāfti, from Proto-West Germanic *samftī (compare Proto-Germanic *sōmiz (agreeable, fitting)), from Proto-Indo-European *sóm-tu-, possibly from *sem- (one, whole).[1]

Doublet of sanft. Cognate with English soft.

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /zaxt/, [zaχt]
  • (file)
  • Homophone: sagt (regional)

Adjective edit

sacht (strong nominative masculine singular sachter, comparative sachter, superlative am sachtesten)

  1. gentle, soft
    Synonyms: behutsam, mild, sanft, zart
    Ein sachter Sommerwind wehte durch die Nacht.
    A gentle summer wind blew through the night.

Usage notes edit

  • Adjectival use is less frequent than adverbial use. See below.

Declension edit

Adverb edit

sacht

  1. gently
    Synonyms: behutsam, sanft
    Er setzte das Kind sacht auf den Boden.
    He set the child gently on the ground.

References edit

  1. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013) “samÞu-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 426

Further reading edit

  • sacht” in Duden online

Plautdietsch edit

Adjective edit

sacht

  1. slow