Luxembourgish

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Etymology

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From German haupt- (main, chief), from Haupt (head), whose native cognate is Luxembourgish Heet. In view of the -aa- perhaps an older borrowing from a time when the underlying phoneme (Middle High German -ou-) had not yet been monophthongised. Alternatively influenced by nearby dialects of Rhine Franconian, in which Haapt or Hääpt is the native cognate.

Pronunciation

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Prefix

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haapt-

  1. main, chief
    haapt- + ‎Strooss (street) → ‎Haaptstrooss (main street)
    haapt- + ‎Stad (city) → ‎Haaptstad (capital)