bummeln

See also: Bummeln

German

Etymology

17th century, for “to swing, waver” (of the clapper of a bell), iterative formation from onomatopoeic bim-bam-bum for the sound of a bell; compare bimmeln (to ring). From this Low German bummeln (18th c.) in the contemporary sense. Related with baumeln (likely an alteration after Baum) and Bommel (bobble).[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈbʊml̩n], [ˈbʊməln]
  • Audio:(file)

Verb

bummeln (weak, third-person singular present bummelt, past tense bummelte, past participle gebummelt, auxiliary haben or sein)

  1. to slack, to dawdle
  2. to stroll, to ramble
    Synonym: schlendern
  3. archaic form of baumeln (to hang slack, dangle)

Conjugation

Derived terms

References

  1. ^ Wolfgang Pfeifer, editor (1993), “bummeln”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen (in German), 2nd edition, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN

Further reading

  • bummeln” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
  • bummeln” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
  • bummeln” in Duden online
  • bummeln” in OpenThesaurus.de