äckel

Swedish

Han känner äckel (He feels disgust) / Han är äcklad (He is disgusted)

De känner äckel (They feel disgust)

Etymology

From German Ekel.

Attempts to connect with words beyond German have proven futile. Examples include Old English ācol, Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐍅𐌹𐍃𐌺𐌹 (aiwiski), Latin aeger, Old Norse eikinn (“furious”), Sanskrit एजति (ejati, “move; shake; stir”).

Noun

äckel n

1. disgust (queasy feeling, like at something potentially contagious, sometimes more or less figuratively)
2. something disgusting (like a substance or activity or the like)
3. (colloquial) a lewd or disgusting person

   Vilket äckel!

   What a creep / disgusting person!

Usage notes

For moral disgust, a word like avsky is often better. Äckel more strongly implies a queasy reaction compared to disgust. Compare the second image.

Declension

Declension of äckel
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	äckel	äcklet	äckel	äcklen
Genitive	äckels	äcklets	äckels	äcklens

Derived terms

• äckelgubbe
• äckelpäckel (“something disgusting”)

Related terms

• äckla (“to disgust”)
• äcklig (“disgusting”)

See also

• avsky
• avsmak
• motvilja
• vämjelse

References

• äckel in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• äckel in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• äckel in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)