Spiel

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See also: spiel

German

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Etymology

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From Middle High German spil, from Old High German spil, from Proto-West Germanic *spil (dance).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ʃpiːl/
  • Rhymes: -iːl
  • Audio (Austria):(file)
  • Audio:(file)

Noun

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Spiel n (strong, genitive Spieles or Spiels, plural Spiele, diminutive Spielchen n or (Ruhrpöttisch) Spielken n)

  1. (countable) a game (instance or way of playing)
  2. (uncountable) gameplay, the experience or act of playing
    Synonym: Spielen
    im Spielat play
  3. (uncountable, figurative) leeway; wiggle room
    Der Personaler sagte mir, beim Gehalt sei noch Spiel nach oben.
    The HR guy told me there was some leeway for a higher salary.
  4. (uncountable, mechanics) backlash; lash; play; slack
  5. (Switzerland) military band, marching band

Usage notes

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  • German Spiel and especially its diminutive Spielchen are also used for an unstraightforward way of acting or maneuvering, as in Lass dich nicht auf seine Spielchen ein! (Don’t get involved in his little games!) The German word does not, however, have the specific sense of English spiel (lengthy, persuasive speech).

Declension

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Hyponyms

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Derived terms

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compounds

Descendants

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  • Czech: špílec
  • English: spiel
  • Macedonian: шпил (špil)
  • Serbo-Croatian: špil, шпил

Further reading

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Hunsrik

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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Spiel n (plural Spiel)

  1. game, play

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Plautdietsch

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Noun

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Spiel f (plural Spielen)

  1. pinfeather