Nachtigall
German
Etymology
Inherited from Middle High German nahtegal, nahtegale, from Old High German nahtagala, from Proto-West Germanic *nahtigalā (literally “she who sings during the night”). Related with Nacht and gellen. Middle High German unstressed -eg- regularly yields modern -ig- (compare the suffix -ig and words like Bräutigam). Cognate with Dutch nachtegaal, English nightingale (which see for more).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈnaxtiɡal/, [ˈnaχ.ti.ɡal], [ˈnax-], [-tɪ-]
Audio: (file)
Noun
Nachtigall f (genitive Nachtigall, plural Nachtigallen)
- nightingale (bird)
Declension
Declension of Nachtigall [feminine]
| singular | plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| indef. | def. | noun | def. | noun | |
| nominative | eine | die | Nachtigall | die | Nachtigallen |
| genitive | einer | der | Nachtigall | der | Nachtigallen |
| dative | einer | der | Nachtigall | den | Nachtigallen |
| accusative | eine | die | Nachtigall | die | Nachtigallen |
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants
- → Saterland Frisian: Nachtigal
Further reading
- “Nachtigall” in Duden online
- “Nachtigall” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache