Wechselbalg

German

Etymology

wechseln (“to exchange”) +‎ Balg (“baby, brat”). Cognate to Dutch wisselbalg.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɛksəlˌbalk/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -alk
• Hyphenation: We‧chsel‧balg

Noun

Wechselbalg m (strong, genitive Wechselbalgs or Wechselbalges, plural (northern Germany) Wechselbälger or (southern Germany) Wechselbälge)

1. (mythology) changeling (an infant that was secretly exchanged for a mother's own baby by an evil creature)
2. (dated) child born out of wedlock

Declension

Declension of Wechselbalg [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Wechselbalg	die	Wechselbälger2, Wechselbälge3
genitive	eines	des	Wechselbalgs, Wechselbalges	der	Wechselbälger2, Wechselbälge3
dative	einem	dem	Wechselbalg, Wechselbalge1	den	Wechselbälgern2, Wechselbälgen3
accusative	einen	den	Wechselbalg	die	Wechselbälger2, Wechselbälge3

¹Now rare, see notes.
²Northern Germany.
³Southern Germany.

Further reading

• “Wechselbalg” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Wechselbalg” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon