Mahlzeit
German edit
Etymology edit
15th century, from Mahl (“meal”) + Zeit (“time”). The word Mahl (a spelling variant of Mal) originally meant "mealtime", but was transferred to the meal itself. The compound then assumed the sense "mealtime", but ultimately underwent the same semantic development yet again. Compare Dutch maaltijd, English mealtide, Danish måltid, Icelandic máltíð.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
Mahlzeit f (genitive Mahlzeit, plural Mahlzeiten)
- meal
- Synonyms: Essen, Mahl
- Hyponyms: Morgenmahlzeit, Mittagsmahlzeit, Abendmahlzeit, Zwischenmahlzeit
- (dated) mealtime
- Synonym: Essenszeit
Declension edit
Declension of Mahlzeit [feminine]
| singular | plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| indef. | def. | noun | def. | noun | |
| nominative | eine | die | Mahlzeit | die | Mahlzeiten |
| genitive | einer | der | Mahlzeit | der | Mahlzeiten |
| dative | einer | der | Mahlzeit | den | Mahlzeiten |
| accusative | eine | die | Mahlzeit | die | Mahlzeiten |
Derived terms edit
Interjection edit
Mahlzeit!
- (colloquial) Ellipsis of gesegnete Mahlzeit or prost Mahlzeit (literally “blessed meal”); enjoy your meal!
- Synonym: (more formal) guten Appetit
- (colloquial) good day, good afternoon; greeting used around lunchtime, roughly between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., especially in the workplace
Derived terms edit
Further reading edit
- “Mahlzeit” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “Mahlzeit” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
- “Mahlzeit” in Duden online
- “Mahlzeit” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.