Kueb

Luxembourgish edit

Etymology edit

Probably from a byform (*kope, *kobe) of Middle High German koppe (“crow, raven”), itself comparable to regional Dutch koop (“kite”), and perhaps further with West Frisian kob (“gull”), English cob (“gull; swan”).

In some neighbouring dialects of Moselle Franconian, the bird name coincides with pet forms of the name Jakob, which was traditionally given to tamed ravens in the German language area. In this case, interaction with the above Middle High German word is likely, but the details would need clarification.

Finally, Luxembourgish Kueb could stand for etymological *Kuerb, allowing for a derivation from Latin corvus (“raven”). However, many Moselle Franconian forms are unambiguously r-less, which makes this very unlikely.

Pronunciation edit

IPA^(key): [kuə̯p]

Noun edit

Kueb m (plural Kueben)

crow, raven, jackdaw; a bird of the family Corvidae, chiefly a black one

Hyponyms edit

Kréi (“magpie”)
Ramm (“common raven”)