Schelm
See also: schelm
Dutch
Etymology
First attested as een beemd de Schelm genaamd in 1606. Likely cognate with dialectal scheluw (“crooked, askew”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sxɛlm/
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: Schelm
- Rhymes: -ɛlm
- Homophone: schelm
Proper noun
Schelm n
- A hamlet in Deurne, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands.
References
- van Berkel, Gerard; Samplonius, Kees (2018) Nederlandse plaatsnamen verklaard (in Dutch), Mijnbestseller.nl, →ISBN
German
Etymology
From Middle High German schelme (“pest, plague; those who have fallen in battle”), Old High German scalmo (“plague”). Cognate with Middle Low German schelm (“carrion, cadaver”), Dutch schelm, Icelandic skelmir (“rogue”).[1]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʃɛlm/
Audio (file)
Noun
Schelm m (strong, genitive Schelmes or Schelms, plural Schelme, feminine Schelmin)
- imp, rogue, prankster
- 1808, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, “Marthens Garten”, in Faust: Der Tragödie erster Teil [Faust, Part One]:
- Hab ich vor dem Menschen ein heimlich Grauen, / Und halt ihn für einen Schelm dazu! / Gott verzeih mir's, wenn ich ihm unrecht tu!
- (please add an English translation of this quote)
-
Declension
Declension of Schelm [masculine, strong]
| singular | plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| indef. | def. | noun | def. | noun | |
| nominative | ein | der | Schelm | die | Schelme |
| genitive | eines | des | Schelmes, Schelms | der | Schelme |
| dative | einem | dem | Schelm, Schelme1 | den | Schelmen |
| accusative | einen | den | Schelm | die | Schelme |
1Now uncommon, see notes.
Derived terms
- schelmisch
Descendants
- → Polish: szelma
- → Russian: ше́льма (šélʹma)
References
- Friedrich Kluge (1883), “Schelm”, in , John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891
Further reading
- “Schelm” in Duden online
- “Schelm” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache