schummeln
German
editEtymology
editThere are two main theories, which need not be mutually exclusive but may complement each other.
- From dialectal schummeln, originally probably “to move back and forth”, whence various attested senses: “waver, totter; rock, swing, push; chase off; abscond, steal away; take clandestinely; rummage; bustle about; do housework”, etc. In favour of this derivation speaks that the sense “to cheat” was sometimes associated with “trickery through swift movements”, especially in the context of gambling. The verb schummeln (in the above-mentioned senses) is found in dialects as far south as Tyrol, but Adelung considered it chiefly Low German and the earliest attestations are of late Middle Dutch scommelen (1410: “to do kitchenwork”, 1530: “to rock, move back and forth”); hence probably of northern origin through Middle Low German *schummelen, eventually perhaps onomatopoeic. Compare modern Dutch schommelen. Compare also German verschaukeln (“to cheat”), from schaukeln (“to rock, swing”).
- Through a dialectally attested sense “to trade (of a Jewish merchant)”, from Yiddish שום (shum), an acronym for the cities of Speyer, Worms, Mainz, the so-called Schum cities, old centres of Jewish religion and trade. However, a verb derived from this acronym is not attested in Yiddish and the sense “to trade” may be derived from the sense “to cheat”, rather than vice versa.
Pronunciation
editVerb
editschummeln (weak, third-person singular present schummelt, past tense schummelte, past participle geschummelt, auxiliary haben)
- (intransitive, somewhat informal) to cheat (especially in games, but also in business, school, etc.)
- Synonym: mogeln
Conjugation
editinfinitive | schummeln | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
present participle | schummelnd | ||||
past participle | geschummelt | ||||
auxiliary | haben | ||||
indicative | subjunctive | ||||
singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
present | ich schummle ich schummele ich schummel |
wir schummeln | i | ich schummele ich schummle |
wir schummeln |
du schummelst | ihr schummelt | du schummelest du schummlest |
ihr schummelet ihr schummlet | ||
er schummelt | sie schummeln | er schummele er schummle |
sie schummeln | ||
preterite | ich schummelte | wir schummelten | ii | ich schummelte1 | wir schummelten1 |
du schummeltest | ihr schummeltet | du schummeltest1 | ihr schummeltet1 | ||
er schummelte | sie schummelten | er schummelte1 | sie schummelten1 | ||
imperative | schummle (du) schummel (du) schummele (du) |
schummelt (ihr) |
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Derived terms
edit- Schummeln, Schummler (“cheater”), Schummelei, Geschummel, Schummel
- schummelnd, geschummelt
- beschummeln, erschummeln
Further reading
editCategories:
- German terms derived from Middle Dutch
- German terms derived from Middle Low German
- German terms derived from Yiddish
- German 2-syllable words
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio pronunciation
- German lemmas
- German verbs
- German weak verbs
- German verbs using haben as auxiliary
- German intransitive verbs
- German informal terms