See also: garen, Gáren, and gæren

German

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle High German jesen, from Old High German jesan, from Proto-Germanic *jesaną. Variants with dissimilative hardening j-g- before front vowels occur since Middle High German. The internal -r- is from the past forms (as in verlieren, schlagen), in part perhaps also from the causative Old High German jerien (to make ferment), from Proto-Germanic *jazjaną. These developments were reinforced by association with the originally unrelated gar (fully cooked). Related to Gischt, English yeast.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈɡɛːrən/, [ˈɡɛː.ʁən], [ˈɡeː-], [-ɐn], [ˈɡɛ(ː)ɐ̯n]
  • Audio:(file)
  • Homophone: gern (chiefly in casual speech)

Verb

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gären (class 4 strong or weak, third-person singular present gärt, past tense gor or gärte, past participle gegoren or gegärt, past subjunctive göre or gärte, auxiliary haben or sein)

  1. (intransitive) to ferment
    Synonym: fermentieren
  2. (figurative, impersonal, intransitive) to be agitated; to seethe
    Seit der letzten Niederlage gärte es in der Mannschaft gewaltig.
    Since the last defeat has there been great agitation among the team.

Usage notes

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  • In the literal sense, the past tense is now usually gärte, though gor exists as an alternative. The past participle predominantly remains strong (gegoren). In the figurative sense, only weak forms are commonly used.

Conjugation

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Further reading

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  • gären” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
  • gären” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
  • gären” in Duden online
  • gären” in OpenThesaurus.de