zappeln

German

Etymology

From Middle High German zappelen, zaplen, zabelen (whence modern German zabeln), from Old High German zabalōn (to move, wriggle), from Proto-West Germanic *tabulōn, from Proto-Germanic *tabōną (to grope, feel, fidget). Cognate with German Low German tappeln, English tave (to struggle, toil, wrestle).

Pronunciation

  • Audio:(file)

Verb

zappeln (weak, third-person singular present zappelt, past tense zappelte, past participle gezappelt, auxiliary haben)

  1. to wriggle

Conjugation

Derived terms

Further reading

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