-keit
German
Etymology
Result of an etymologically wrong segmentation (rebracketing) of two suffixes in Upper German dialects of Middle High German: -ec (modern -ig) and -heit: -ec-heit was interpreted as -e-keit.[1] Later this phenomenon spread to other suffixes, and even to Central German dialects, in which the equivalents of -ig had never been pronounced with a final [k]-sound. (Compare the modern standard pronunciation of -ig [-ɪç].) However, in some northern dialects of Central German, like Ripuarian, -keit is still absent or has only recently been introduced from standard German.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kaɪ̯t/, [kaɪ̯t]
Audio (file)
Suffix
-keit f (genitive -keit, plural -keiten)
- Alternative form of -heit
- wirksam (“effective”) + -keit → Wirksamkeit (“effectiveness”)
Usage notes
- See -heit for notes on the use of the two variants.
Declension
Declension of -keit [feminine]
| singular | plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| indef. | def. | noun | def. | noun | |
| nominative | eine | die | -keit | die | -keiten |
| genitive | einer | der | -keit | der | -keiten |
| dative | einer | der | -keit | den | -keiten |
| accusative | eine | die | -keit | die | -keiten |
Derived terms
German terms suffixed with -keit
References
- Friedrich Kluge (1989), “-heit”, in Elmar Seebold, editor, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache [Etymological Dictionary of the German Language] (in German), 22nd edition, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN