wabbeln
German edit
Etymology edit
From Middle High German wabelen, merged with related Middle Low German *wabbelen. To the former compare Old Norse vafla, to the latter dialectal Dutch wobbelen, English wabble, wobble. All of these are iteratives of Proto-Germanic *wabōną, whence Middle High German waben (“to move about”), Old English wafian (modern English wave).
In the High German form, the -bb- is due to blocking of open-syllable lengthening, which is fairly common before the syllables -el- and -er-. In the Low German form it must be due to expressive gemination.
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
wabbeln (weak, third-person singular present wabbelt, past tense wabbelte, past participle gewabbelt, auxiliary haben)
Derived terms edit
Low German edit
Etymology edit
Cognate with English wobble and wabble.
Verb edit
wabbeln (past singular wabbel, past participle wabbelt, auxiliary verb hebben)
Conjugation edit
infinitive | wabbeln | |
---|---|---|
indicative | present | preterite |
1st person singular | wabbel | wabbel |
2nd person singular | wabbelst | wabbelst |
3rd person singular | wabbelt | wabbel |
plural | wabbelt | wabbeln |
imperative | present | — |
singular | wabbel | |
plural | wabbelt | |
participle | present | past |
wabbel | wabbelt | |
Note: This conjugation is one of many; neither its grammar nor spelling apply to all dialects. |