-heit
German
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Lua error in Module:utilities at line 142: attempt to perform arithmetic on local 'h' (a nil value), from Lua error in Module:utilities at line 142: attempt to perform arithmetic on local 'h' (a nil value), from Proto-West Germanic *-haidu, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *haiduz (“personality, character, manner, way”).[1] Cognate with Dutch -heid, English -hood, Danish -hed.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /-haɪ̯t/, [haɪ̯t]
- The suffix has secondary stress when it follows an unstressed syllable and often also when it precedes one. When it is entirely unstressed, the /h/ may be unpronounced in common speech.
Audio (file)
Suffix
Lua error in Module:utilities at line 142: attempt to perform arithmetic on local 'h' (a nil value)
- Converts an adjective into a noun and usually denotes an abstract quality of the adjectival root. It is often equivalent to the English suffixes -ness, -th, -ty, -dom:
- Converts concrete nouns into abstract nouns:
- Kind (“child”) + -heit → Kindheit (“childhood”)
- Christ (“Christian”) + -heit → Christenheit (“Christendom”)
Usage notes
- While -heit is the normal form of this suffix, it becomes -keit after certain adjectival suffixes. These are -bar, -ig, -isch, -lich, -sam. For example: nützlich (“useful”) + -heit → Nützlichkeit (“utility”).
- Adjectives ending in unstressed -el, -er usually take -keit as well: eitel (“vain”) + -heit → Eitelkeit (“vanity”), mager (“meagre”) + -heit → Magerkeit (“meagreness”). However, there are a handful of exceptions, e.g. Dunkelheit (“darkness”), Sicherheit (“safety”).
- Sometimes -ig- is added to the adjective and the suffix thus becomes -keit. This is the general rule with adjectives in -haft and -los: fehlerhaft (“faulty”) + -heit → Fehlerhaftigkeit (“faultiness”). There is also a fairly large number of other adjectives that follow this pattern: müde (“tired”) + -heit → Müdigkeit (“tiredness”). Two forms may exist for some adjectives, occasionally with a semantic distinction, e.g. Neuheit (“novelty”) versus Neuigkeit (“news”).
Declension
Lua error in Module:utilities at line 142: attempt to perform arithmetic on local 'h' (a nil value)
Derived terms
References
- Friedrich Kluge (1989), “-heit”, in Elmar Seebold, editor, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache [Etymological Dictionary of the German Language] (in German), 22nd edition, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN.
Further reading
- Friedrich Kluge (1883), “-heit”, in , John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891
-heit on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia de
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
From Lua error in Module:utilities at line 142: attempt to perform arithmetic on local 'h' (a nil value), a borrow from Lua error in Module:utilities at line 142: attempt to perform arithmetic on local 'h' (a nil value). Compare with Norwegian Bokmål -het and Swedish -het.
Suffix
-heit f
- (colloquial) creates abstract nouns from adjectives
- (rare) creates concrete nouns
Derived terms
References
- “-heit” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.