zwicken
See also: Zwicken
German
Etymology
From Middle High German zwicken (“to fasten with nails, squeeze in, pinch, tug”), Old High German *zwicchēn, from Proto-West Germanic *twikkijan (“to nail, pin, fasten, clasp, pinch”). Cognate with Middle English twicchen (whence English twitch), Low German twikken.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈt͡svɪkən/, [ˈt͡svɪkŋ̩] (Germany)
Audio: (file) (Germany)
- IPA(key): /ˈt͡svɪkɛn/, [ˈt͡svɪkŋ̩] (Austria, South German, Switzerland)
- Hyphenation: zwi‧cken
Verb
zwicken (weak, third-person singular present zwickt, past tense zwickte, past participle gezwickt, auxiliary haben)
- (transitive) to pinch
- Synonym: kneifen
- Hör auf, mich zu zwicken! ― Stop pinching me!
- (intransitive) to be tight (of a piece of garment)
- Synonym: spannen
- Die Hose muss eingelaufen sein, die zwickt ganz schön. ― These trousers must have shrunk, they're pretty tight.
Usage notes
Zwicken in the sense of to pinch and synonymous kneifen are common throughout the German language area, zwicken is, however, preferrably used in southern regions and kneifen in central and northern regions.
Conjugation
Conjugation of zwicken (weak, auxiliary haben)
| infinitive | zwicken | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present participle | zwickend | ||||
| past participle | gezwickt | ||||
| auxiliary | haben | ||||
| indicative | subjunctive | ||||
| singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
| present | ich zwicke | wir zwicken | i | ich zwicke | wir zwicken |
| du zwickst | ihr zwickt | du zwickest | ihr zwicket | ||
| er zwickt | sie zwicken | er zwicke | sie zwicken | ||
| preterite | ich zwickte | wir zwickten | ii | ich zwickte1 | wir zwickten1 |
| du zwicktest | ihr zwicktet | du zwicktest1 | ihr zwicktet1 | ||
| er zwickte | sie zwickten | er zwickte1 | sie zwickten1 | ||
| imperative | zwick (du) zwicke (du) |
zwickt (ihr) | |||
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Composed forms of zwicken (weak, auxiliary haben)
Hyponyms
- abzwicken
- aufzwicken
- auseinanderzwicken
- durchzwicken
- einzwicken
- herauszwicken
- herumzwicken
- herunterzwicken
- hineinzwicken
- rauszwicken
- reinzwicken
- rumzwicken
- verzwicken
- zurechtzwicken
- zusammenzwicken
- zuzwicken
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants
- Polish: ćwiczyć
Further reading
- “zwicken” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “zwicken” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
- “zwicken” in Duden online
- “zwicken” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.