Arbeitstier

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

German

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

Arbeit (work) +‎ -s- +‎ Tier (animal)

Pronunciation

[edit]
  • IPA(key): /ˈaʁbaɪ̯tsˌtiːʁ/, [ˈʔaʁ.baɪ̯t͡sˌti(ː)ɐ̯], [ˈʔaɐ̯-], [ʔaː-]
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: Ar‧beits‧tier

Noun

[edit]

Arbeitstier n (strong, genitive Arbeitstieres or Arbeitstiers, plural Arbeitstiere)

  1. an animal that does labour for people; beast of burden
    Ochsen wurden hauptsächlich als Arbeitstiere gehalten.
    Oxen were kept predominantly as beasts of burden.
  2. (figurative) a person who works exaggeratedly hard
    1. workaholic (one who cannot relax)
      Er ist so ein Arbeitstier, dass er seine Tabellen noch als Bettlektüre benutzt.
      He’s such a workaholic that he still reads his tables when he goes to bed.
    2. plodder (one who must level out lacking talent)
      Es gibt drei Arten von guten Schülern: die Genies, die Schleimer und die Arbeitstiere.
      There are three kinds of people who are good in school: the geniuses, the teacher’s pets, and the plodders.
  3. (figurative) a machine, e.g. a car, kept for practical use rather than for leisure or as a status symbol
    Der Kombi ist ein reines Arbeitstier. Für den Rest hab ich den Porsche.
    The estate car is just for practical use. For the rest, I’ve got the Porsche.

Declension

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
  • Arbeitstier” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
  • Arbeitstier” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon