Seehund
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German
[edit]Etymology
[edit]15th century, alteration of Seelhund, explanatory compound from now obsolete Seel (“seal”) + Hund (“dog”). The first component seems to have been inherited from Middle High German sele, seleh, from Old High German selah, from Proto-Germanic *selhaz (“seal”). For natural reasons it was a rare word, however, and was later reinforced by cognate Middle Low German sēl, also sēlhunt. Cognate with English seal, North Frisian selich, seel, Danish sæl. Ultimately reinterpreted as See (“sea”) + Hund (“dog”); compare the same in Dutch zeehond.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]Seehund m (strong, genitive Seehunds or Seehundes, plural Seehunde, diminutive Seehündchen n, feminine Seehündin)
- common seal, harbor seal (Phoca vitulina)
- Hypernym: Robbe
- (loosely) any seal
- Synonym: Robbe
Declension
[edit]Declension of Seehund [masculine, strong]
Descendants
[edit]- → Hebrew: כלב ים (kélev-yam) (calque)
See also
[edit]Further reading
[edit]Categories:
- German terms derived from Middle High German
- German terms derived from Old High German
- German terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- German terms derived from Middle Low German
- German compound terms
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio pronunciation
- German lemmas
- German nouns
- German masculine nouns
- de:Phocid seals