schnurren

See also: Schnurren

German

Etymology

From Middle High German snurren, ablaut variant of snarren (whence modern schnarren), ultimately of imitative origin (lautmalend); compare Dutch snorren, as well as English snarl. Pfeifer ultimately connects these terms to an onomatopoeic Proto-Indo-European *(s)nur- (to grumble, growl), and adduces nörgeln (to nag, grumble) as a cognate.[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈʃnʊʁən/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: schnur‧ren

Verb

schnurren (weak, third-person singular present schnurrt, past tense schnurrte, past participle geschnurrt, auxiliary haben)

  1. (of cats etc.) to purr (produce a vibrating, whirring sound, especially when satisfied)
    Unsere Katze schnurrt immer, wenn sie merkt, dass ihr Fressen vorbereitet wird.
    Our cat always purrs when she notices that her meal is being prepared.
  2. (figurative, of an engine or mechanism) to produce a “healthy” sound that indicates good function

Conjugation

Derived terms

References

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

Further reading

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