Zettel

See also: zettel

English

Etymology

Borrowed from German Zettel.

Proper noun

Zettel (plural Zettels)

1. A surname from German.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Zettel is the 34272^nd most common surname in the United States, belonging to 662 individuals. Zettel is most common among White (96.83%) individuals.

Further reading

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Zettel”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 3, New York City: Oxford University Press, →ISBN.

German

ein Zettel.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡sɛtəl/, [ˈt͡sɛtl̩]
• Hyphenation: Zet‧tel

Etymology 1

Early Modern High German zeddel, zedel, from Middle High German zedele, zedel, a loan from Italian cedola, from Medieval Latin cedula, schedula, the diminutive of scheda, scida (“strip of papyrus”) ultimately from Ancient Greek σχίδη (skhídē, “splinter, fragment”). Cognate to Low German Zeddel, Palatine Rhine Franconian Zeddel, English schedule.

The spelling with -tt- was found from the 15th century in Upper German; the spelling with -dd- persisted until the 19th century, primarily in authors from Central or Northern Germany. Luther mostly writes zedel, Goethe alternates between zeddel and zettel. The (now obsolete) spelling variant zettul is influenced by French cédule.

Occasional weak inflection was found in Middle High German and persisted into the 18th century. The original feminine gender was retained until Luther's time, but occasional masculine or neuter gender was found by the late Middle High German period. The masculine gender has predominated since the 19th century.

Alternative forms

• zedel (archaic, Early New High German)
• zeddel (regional and archaic)
• ziddel (regional (Thuringian) and archaic)
• zöttel (regional (Bavarian) and archaic)
• zättel (regional (Alemannic) and archaic)
• zettul (archaic, Early New High German and 19th century)
• Zeddel
• Zettul m or n

Noun

Zettel m (strong, genitive Zettels, plural Zettel, diminutive Zettelchen n)

1. a small or loose piece of paper, slip
   • 1635, Jacob Bidermann, Cenodoxus, page 71:

     der schutzengel [...] sträuet etliche zettele nider, darauf schöne sprüch aus heiliger schrift wider die hoffart

     the guardian angel scatters a number of loose pages from above, on which are fine sayings from the holy writ against the sin of pride

2. note, message, letter
   • 1511, Albrecht von Eyb, Spiegel der Sitten, Augsburg, 92v. (O 2b):

     name er sollich zedel der klagen, verprennet sy und sprach

     he [Constantine] took such letters of complaint [against the bishops], burned them, and said [...]

   • 1910, Rainer Maria Rilke, Die Aufzeichnungen des Malte Laurids Brigge [The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge]‎^[1]:

     Gut. Ich bekam einen Zettel: ich sollte um ein Uhr in der Salpêtrère sein. Ich war dort.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

3. poster, placard, public notice
   • 1725, Chr. Thomasius, Gedanken und Erinnerungen, Marburg, 3, 104:

     ohnerachtet herr d. Pf. meinen zettul vom schwartzen brette hatte abreiszen lassen

     nevertheless Mr. d. Pf. had my poster taken down from the [university's] bulletin board

Declension

Declension of Zettel [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Zettel	die	Zettel
genitive	eines	des	Zettels	der	Zettel
dative	einem	dem	Zettel	den	Zetteln
accusative	einen	den	Zettel	die	Zettel

Derived terms

• Beipackzettel
• Denkzettel
• Handzettel
• Kassenzettel
• Klebezettel
• Lohnzettel
• Lottozettel
• Meldezettel
• Merkzettel
• Notizzettel
• Packzettel
• Schmierzettel
• Schummelzettel
• Spickzettel
• Totenzettel
• Waschzettel
• Wunschzettel
• Zettelkasten
• Zettelwirtschaft

 

Descendants

• → Hungarian: cetli

Etymology 2

A technical term in weaving recorded from the later 15th century (in Middle High German in the compound zettelgarn). The noun is derived from the verb zetten (“scatter; spread out, arrange”) via the suffix -el denoting tools (as in Hebel, Stößel). The verb zetten itself is from Proto-Germanic *tadjaną (“to strew, scatter”), whence also English tath (“dung”).

In German translations of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream the name of the weaver Nick Bottom (one of the “rude mechanicals,” from bottom (“ball or skein of thread”) replaced by a German technical term of weaving following Christoph Martin Wieland, 1762).

Noun

Zettel m (strong, genitive Zettels, plural Zettel)

2. (weaving) warp

   Synonyms: Kettfaden, Werft

   • 1493, Adolf Rapp, editor, Urkundenbuch Stuttgart, Stuttgart, published 1912, page 560:

     kainen zettel innemen oder wúrken, er hab in dann selbs gezettlet

     [he should] take over or work no warp, unless that he has himself warped it

   • 1530, Zürcher Bibel, Leviticus 13:48:

     wenn […] an einem kleid eines aussatzes maal sein wirt, es sey ... am zettel oder am eintrag

     The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether […] it be in the warp, or woof […]

   • 1816, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Italienische Reise [Italian Journey]‎^[2], volume 2:

     In den Niederlanden hatte das Teppichwirken mit stehendem Zettel, Hautelisse genannt, sich schon auf den höchsten Grad erhoben.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Declension

Declension of Zettel [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Zettel	die	Zettel
genitive	eines	des	Zettels	der	Zettel
dative	einem	dem	Zettel	den	Zetteln
accusative	einen	den	Zettel	die	Zettel

Derived terms

• zetteln

References

• “GZ04979” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.

Further reading

• “Zettel” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Zettel” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “Zettel” in OpenThesaurus.de
• Zettel on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^de
• “GZ04966” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.
• Wolfgang Pfeifer, editor (1993), “Zettel”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen (in German), 2nd edition, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN

Hunsrik

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡setl̩/

Noun

Zettel m (plural Zettel)

1. note

Further reading

• Online Hunsrik Dictionary