sterben

See also: Sterben

German

Etymology

From Middle High German sterben, from Old High German sterban, from Proto-Germanic *sterbaną, itself either from Proto-Indo-European *(s)terp- (to lose force; lose sensibility, become numb; be dead, be motionless) or from Proto-Indo-European *sterbʰ- (to be stiff, become stiff). Cognate with Dutch sterven, Low German starven, stiärven, sterven, staarven, West Frisian stjerre, English starve.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈʃtɛrbən/, [ˈʃtɛʁ.bm̩], [ˈʃtɛɐ̯-], [-bən]
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  • Audio (Austria):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛʁbn̩
  • Hyphenation: ster‧ben

Verb

sterben (class 3 strong, third-person singular present stirbt, past tense starb, past participle gestorben, past subjunctive stürbe, auxiliary sein)

  1. (intransitive) to die
    Mein Hund ist gestorben.My dog has died.
  2. (transitive or intransitive) to die [with accusative or genitive ‘a (particular kind of) death’]
    Das Opfer ist einen schrecklichen Tod gestorben.
    Das Opfer ist eines schrecklichen Todes gestorben.
    The victim died a terrible death.

Conjugation

Derived terms

See also

Further reading