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)

  1. nightingale (bird)

Declension

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Saterland Frisian: Nachtigal

Further reading