Zotte
German
editEtymology
editFrom Middle High German zote with ideophonic gemination of t > tt, from Old High German zota (alongside zata and zoto m, zato),[1] from Proto-Germanic *tadǭ (“tousled mass”) (whence also English tod (“bush, flock”), Old Norse taða (“manured meadow”)), from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂-tós, a participial form of *deh₂- (“to split, cut, divide”).[2] The form shows Upper German hindrance of lengthening before -t- (as predominantly in Modern German); a Central German doublet is Zote (“dirty joke”), which see.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editZotte f (genitive Zotte, plural Zotten)
- a flock of hair or fur clotted by moisture, dirt etc.
- Synonym: Zottel
- Der Eisbär stieg aus dem Wasser und schüttelte seine nassen Zotten.
- The polar bear got out of the water and shook his wet fur.
- 1883–1885, Friedrich Nietzsche, “Von den berühmten Weisen”, in Also sprach Zarathustra […] [Thus Spoke Zarathustra][2], Zweiter Theil:
- Das Fell des Raubthiers, das buntgefleckte, und die Zotten des Forschenden, Suchenden, Erobernden!
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Declension
editDeclension of Zotte [feminine]
Derived terms
editReferences
editFurther reading
edit- “Zotte” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.
Categories:
- German terms inherited from Middle High German
- German terms derived from Middle High German
- German terms inherited from Old High German
- German terms derived from Old High German
- German terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- German terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- German terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- German terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- German doublets
- German 2-syllable words
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio links
- German lemmas
- German nouns
- German feminine nouns
- German terms with usage examples
- German terms with quotations