Siepen

German

Alternative forms

• Seifen, Siefen

Etymology

From Middle Low German sîpe, from the verb sîpen (“to trickle”). Cognate with Middle High German sīfe, whence the alternative forms, and further with Dutch zijp (“canal, sewer”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈziːpən/

Noun

Siepen m or n (strong, genitive Siepens, plural Siepen)

1. (regional, chiefly in toponyms) a swampy gorge, a brook in a valley

Usage notes

• In official toponyms the regional distribution of the forms is roughly as follows:
  • Siepen in Low German and Low Franconian areas, chiefly the Bergisches Land and Sauerland.
  • Siefen in the Central German parts of North Rhine-Westphalia (except Siegerland).
  • Seifen in other Central German areas.
• Appellative use outside of purely local contexts is rare in Standard German, but it appears that the proper form Seifen is actually the least favoured, without doubt because of its homonymy with Seifen (“soaps”). German wikipedia uses Siepen as lemma, which we follow here.

Declension

Declension of Siepen [masculine // neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der, das	Siepen	die	Siepen
genitive	eines	des	Siepens	der	Siepen
dative	einem	dem	Siepen	den	Siepen
accusative	einen, ein	den, das	Siepen	die	Siepen