Spaten

See also: spaten and späten

German

Etymology

The word was originally restricted to Low and Central German: from Middle High German spade, spate and Middle Low German spade, both from Old Saxon spado (possibly also Old High German *spato), from Proto-Germanic *spadô. Due to its northern origin the form has undergone open-syllable lengthening before -t- (which was generally blocked in Upper German). Cognate to English spade; see there for further cognates.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈʃpaːt(ə)n/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Homophones: sparten (some speakers), Sparten (some speakers)
  • Rhymes: -aːtn̩

Noun

Spaten m (strong, genitive Spatens, plural Spaten)

  1. spade
  2. (colloquial, derogatory) idiot, dumbass

Declension

Declension of Spaten [masculine, strong]
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein der Spaten die Spaten
genitive eines des Spatens der Spaten
dative einem dem Spaten den Spaten
accusative einen den Spaten die Spaten

Further reading

  • “Spaten” in Duden online
  • “Spaten” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
  • “Spaten” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
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