Dämlack

German

Etymology

19th century, derived from dämlich. The second syllable has been compared to Lackel (“yokel”), but this word is southwestern, whereas Dämlack appears to be of northeastern, especially Berlinian, origin. Therefore a derivation with the Slavic suffix *-akъ is more likely. Said suffix has been productive in various eastern German dialects.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈdɛːmlak/, [ˈdɛːm.lak], [ˈdeːm-]
Audio: (file)

Noun

Dämlack m (strong, genitive Dämlacks or Dämlackes, plural Dämlacke or Dämlacks)

(informal, dated) dummy, idiot, knucklehead

Declension

Declension of Dämlack [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Dämlack	die	Dämlacke, Dämlacks
genitive	eines	des	Dämlacks, Dämlackes	der	Dämlacke, Dämlacks
dative	einem	dem	Dämlack, Dämlacke¹	den	Dämlacken, Dämlacks
accusative	einen	den	Dämlack	die	Dämlacke, Dämlacks

¹Now rare, see notes.