Wiktionary

Marienkäfer

German

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ein Marienkäfer

Etymology

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From Marien- (cf. genitive forms: Mariens, Mariä, Marias, der Maria (i.e. of the Mary)), a bound morpheme derived from Maria (“Maria, Mary”) +‎ Käfer (“beetle”). Compare ladybird and ladybug, where “lady” refers to the Virgin Mary.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /maˈʁiː.ənˌkɛː.fɐ/ (standard; used naturally in western Germany and Switzerland)
  • IPA(key): /-keː-/ (overall more common; particularly northern and eastern regions)
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: Ma‧ri‧en‧kä‧fer

Noun

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Marienkäfer m (strong, genitive Marienkäfers, plural Marienkäfer, diminutive Marienkäferchen n or Marienkäferlein n)

  1. ladybug / lady-bug, ladybird / lady-bird

Declension

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Declension of Marienkäfer [masculine, strong]
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein der Marienkäfer die Marienkäfer
genitive eines des Marienkäfers der Marienkäfer
dative einem dem Marienkäfer den Marienkäfern
accusative einen den Marienkäfer die Marienkäfer

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Further reading

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