German

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Etymology

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From Middle High German [Term?], from Old High German [Term?].

Derived from sauber (clean).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈzɔʏ̯bəʁn/, [ˈzɔʏ̯bɐn]
  • Audio:(file)
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: säu‧bern

Verb

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säubern (weak, third-person singular present säubert, past tense säuberte, past participle gesäubert, auxiliary haben)

  1. to clean, to cleanse
    Synonyms: saubermachen; reinigen

Usage notes

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Säubern also is used in political context: eine Organisation säubern "to remove politically unwanted persons from an organisation". One cannot use saubermachen and reinigen in this context.

Conjugation

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Derived terms

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Further reading

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