eitel
See also: Eitel
German
editEtymology
editFrom Middle High German ītel (“empty, void, vain”), from Old High German ītal (“empty”), from Proto-Germanic *īdalaz. Cognate with Luxembourgish eidel (“empty”), Dutch ijdel (“vain”), English idle.
Pronunciation
editAdjective
editeitel (strong nominative masculine singular eitler or (less common) eiteler, comparative eitler or (rare) eiteler, superlative am eitelsten)
- vain (overly proud of oneself, especially one’s outer appearance)
- Synonyms: eingebildet, selbstverliebt, kokett
- Er ist so eitel, dass er kaum mal zwanzig Minuten nicht in den Spiegel gucken kann.
- He’s so vain that he can barely go twenty minutes without looking into a mirror.
- (religion, otherwise dated) vain; void; futile (having no value or effect)
- Synonyms: nichtig, nutzlos, vergeblich
- Der weltliche Genuss ist eitel und vergänglich.
- Worldly pleasures are vain and fading.
- (formal, dated, uninflected) genuine; pure
- Synonym: lauter
- Der Ring ist aus eitel Gold.
- The ring is made of pure gold.
- (dated, uninflected) only; nothing but
- Synonym: bloß
- c. 1778, Matthias Claudius, “Der Mond ist aufgegangen [The Moon Has Risen]”, in Musen-Almanach, Johann Heinrich Voß, published 1779, page 185:
- Wir ſtolze Menſchenskinder / Sind eitel arme Suͤnder, / Und wiſſen gar nicht viel; […]
- We proud children of man / Are [nothing] but poor sinners / And we do not know much
- (dialectal, otherwise obsolete) empty
- Synonym: leer
Declension
editPositive forms of eitel
1Less common.
Comparative forms of eitel
1Rare.
Superlative forms of eitel
Derived terms
editFurther reading
edit- “eitel” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “eitel, nur, pur, rein” in Duden online
- “eitel, arrogant, anmaszend” in Duden online
Categories:
- German terms inherited from Middle High German
- German terms derived from Middle High German
- German terms derived from Old High German
- German terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- German 2-syllable words
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio links
- German lemmas
- German adjectives
- German terms with usage examples
- de:Religion
- German dated terms
- German formal terms
- German terms with quotations
- German dialectal terms
- German terms with obsolete senses