German

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Etymology

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Result of an etymologically wrong segmentation (rebracketing) of two suffixes in Upper German dialects of Middle High German: -ec (modern -ig) and -heit: -ec-heit was interpreted as -e-keit.[1] Later this phenomenon spread to other suffixes, and even to Central German dialects, in which the equivalents of -ig had never been pronounced with a final [k]-sound. (Compare the modern standard pronunciation of -ig [-ɪç].) However, in some northern dialects of Central German, like Ripuarian, -keit is still absent or has only recently been introduced from standard German. Compare Saterland Frisian -igaid.

Pronunciation

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Suffix

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-keit f (genitive -keit, plural -keiten)

  1. Alternative form of -heit
    wirksam (effective) + ‎-keit → ‎Wirksamkeit (effectiveness)

Usage notes

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  • See -heit for notes on the use of the two variants.

Declension

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Derived terms

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References

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  1. ^ Friedrich Kluge (1989) “-heit”, in Elmar Seebold, editor, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache [Etymological Dictionary of the German Language] (in German), 22nd edition, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN