Bein
See also: bein, be-in, and bein'
German
Etymology
From Middle High German bein, from Old High German bein, from Proto-West Germanic *bain, from Proto-Germanic *bainą. Compare Dutch been, English bone, Danish ben.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /baɪ̯n/
audio (file) - Rhymes: -aɪ̯n
Noun
Bein n (strong, genitive Beines or Beins, plural Beine, diminutive Beinchen n)
- leg of a person, animal, or object
- (archaic, except in compounds) bone
Usage notes
- In a narrower sense, German Bein excludes the feet, but for the most part it includes them. It can even refer to the feet specifically in some regions where a clothed but barefoot person might hear Du hast ja nichts an den Beinen! (literally “You have nothing on your legs!”) Compare also the phrase wieder auf den Beinen, where English says “back on one’s feet”.
- The sense of bone is widely obsolete in standard usage, apart from a limited number of still common compounds, such as Schlüsselbein, Elfenbein, Steißbein.
Declension
Declension of Bein [neuter, strong]
| singular | plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| indef. | def. | noun | def. | noun | |
| nominative | ein | das | Bein | die | Beine |
| genitive | eines | des | Beines, Beins | der | Beine |
| dative | einem | dem | Bein, Beine1 | den | Beinen |
| accusative | ein | das | Bein | die | Beine |
1Now uncommon, see notes.
Derived terms
(leg):
- auf den Beinen
- auf einem Bein kann man nicht stehen
- Beine bis zum Boden
- Bankbein
- Hinterbein
- Holzbein
- Hosenbein
- Stuhlbein
- Tischbein
- Vorderbein
(bone):
- Beinhaus n
- Brustbein
- Dickbein
- Elfenbein n
- Gebein n
- Nasenbein n
- Scheitelbein
- Schienbein
- Schläfenbein
- Schlüsselbein n
- Steißbein n
- Wadenbein
Further reading
- “Bein” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “Bein” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
- “Bein” in Duden online
- “Bein” in OpenThesaurus.de
Bein on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia de- “Bein” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.
German Low German
Alternative forms
- (in other dialects, including Low Prussian) Been
Etymology
See Been.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bɛɪ̯n/, /baɪ̯n/
Noun
Bein ? (plural Beiner)
- (in some dialects) leg
Noun
Bein ? (plural has not been set)
- (in some dialects) bone (as material)
- (in some dialects) bones; a skeleton or skeletons
See also
- Knaken, Knake; Knoake
- Plautdietsch: Been