German

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Etymology

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From Middle High German weibeln, frequentative of weiben (to move to and fro),[1] from Old High German weibōn, from a variant of Proto-West Germanic *waibijan (whence Dutch wuiven, English weave). The sense “to campaign” was influenced by the word Weibel (kind of Swiss civil servant, usher), itself derived from the above verb.

Verb

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weibeln (weak, third-person singular present weibelt, past tense weibelte, past participle geweibelt, auxiliary haben)

  1. (Switzerland, often politics) to campaign, champion
    Synonyms: werben, sich einsetzen, engagieren, Klinken putzen
    für eine Sache weibeln(please add an English translation of this usage example)
  2. (obsolete) to move to and fro, to wave, waggle, teeter
    Synonyms: wedeln, schwingen, wanken, schwanken, taumeln

Conjugation

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Derived terms

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References

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  1. ^ weibeln” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.

Further reading

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