Wiktionary

König

See also: Koenig

German edit

Etymology edit

From Middle High German künec, from Old High German kuning (rarer kunig), from Proto-West Germanic *kuning, from Proto-Germanic *kuningaz.[1]

The development Old High German -ning → later -nig is regular (see Pfennig). The modern vocalism -ö- is chiefly Central and Low German; compare Middle Low German köninc, from Old Saxon kuning.

Cognate with Old Dutch kuning (whence Dutch koning), Old English cyning (whence English king), Old Norse konungr (whence e.g. Danish konge). The word was borrowed into non-Germanic languages in Proto-Germanic times: Finnish and Estonian kuningas, Russian князь (knjazʹ).

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /ˈkøːnɪç/
    • Audio(file)
  • IPA(key): /ˈkøːnɪk/ (southern Germany, Austria)

Noun edit

König m (strong, genitive Königes or Königs, plural Könige)

  1. king (monarch, chess, card games)

Usage notes edit

  • Together with proper nouns, the genitive can be König[e]s with uninflected proper noun (e.g. Königs Wilhelm) or less common uninflected König with inflected proper noun as if the noun König were part of a name (e.g. König Wilhelms).

Declension edit

Declension of König [masculine, strong]
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein der König die Könige
genitive eines des Königes, Königs der Könige
dative einem dem König, Könige1 den Königen
accusative einen den König die Könige

1Now rare, see notes.

Note: The long genitive form Königes lost popularity by the mid-19th century.

Hyponyms edit

Derived terms edit

Related terms edit

See also edit

Chess pieces in German · Schachfiguren, Schachsteine (layout · text)
           
König Dame, Königin Turm Läufer Springer, Pferd, Ross, Rössel Bauer

Proper noun edit

König m or f (proper noun, surname, masculine genitive Königs or (with an article) König, feminine genitive König, plural Königs)

  1. a common surname transferred from the nickname

References edit

  1. ^ "König" in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Further reading edit

Saterland Frisian edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

Borrowed from Middle Low German kȫnnich, from Old Saxon kuning. Cognates include German Low German König. Doublet of Kening.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

König m (plural [please provide])

  1. king

Synonyms edit

References edit

  • Marron C. Fort (2015) “Kening”, in Saterfriesisches Wörterbuch mit einer phonologischen und grammatischen Übersicht, Buske, →ISBN
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=König&oldid=72133517"