Schwalbe
See also: schwalbe
English
Proper noun
Schwalbe
- (aviation, military) The World War II Messerschmitt Me-262 jet fighter.
German
Etymology
From Middle High German swalwe, from Old High German swalwa, from Proto-Germanic *swalwǭ. Cognatew with Middle Dutch swaluwe (modern Dutch zwaluw), Old Saxon swala, Old English swealwe (modern English swallow), Old Norse svala (Danish svale, Swedish svala).
The football sense from a saying „Der fliegt wie ’ne Schwalbe!“ (“The man flies like a swallow!”), or the like, punning on fliegen in the sense of “to fall”. Compare hinfliegen (“to fall down”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈʃvalbə/, [ˈʃʋälbə]
audio (file)
Noun
Schwalbe f (genitive Schwalbe, plural Schwalben)
- swallow (bird)
- (sports, soccer) dive (deliberate fall, simulated foul)
- (aviation, military) a WWII Messerschmitt Me-262 jet-fighter
Declension
Declension of Schwalbe
singular | plural | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
indef. | def. | noun | def. | noun | |
nominative | eine | die | Schwalbe | die | Schwalben |
genitive | einer | der | Schwalbe | der | Schwalben |
dative | einer | der | Schwalbe | den | Schwalben |
accusative | eine | die | Schwalbe | die | Schwalben |
Derived terms
- Bordsteinschwalbe
- Fuchsschwalbe
- Mehlschwalbe
- Rauchschwalbe
- Schwalbennest
- Schwalbenschwanz
- Seeschwalbe
- Uferschwalbe
Descendants
- → Dutch: schwalbe
- → Silesian: šwalbkowate (compounded with native word)
Further reading
- Schwalbe in Duden online