Dünkel

See also: dunkel and Dunkel

German

Etymology

16th century, from Middle High German dunc (“thinking, point of view”) +‎ -el. Probably coined by Luther. The Middle High German noun is deverbal from dünken (“to seem”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdʏŋkəl/, [ˈdʏŋ.kl̩]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Dünkel m (strong, genitive Dünkels, plural (rare) Dünkel)

1. the (unjustified) conviction that one is better than others; conceit, arrogance

   Synonyms: Einbildung; Arroganz, Hochmut, Selbstgefälligkeit, Überheblichkeit

   Natürlich war er nicht frei von dem tief verwurzelten Dünkel des damaligen Adels, doch verbarg er diesen Dünkel hinter einer liebenswerten Selbstironie.

   Of course, he was not free from the deep-rooted conceit of his day’s nobility, but he hid this conceit behind an endearing self-deprecation.

Usage notes

• Like Einbildung, the word Dünkel refers to an inner belief which may but need not manifest itself in behaviour such as openly dismissive treatment of others. Dünkel is used especially when this belief is based on one’s belonging to a certain group, e.g. a class or race.

Declension

Declension of Dünkel [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Dünkel	die	Dünkel
genitive	eines	des	Dünkels	der	Dünkel
dative	einem	dem	Dünkel	den	Dünkeln
accusative	einen	den	Dünkel	die	Dünkel

Derived terms

• Adelsdünkel
• Bildungsdünkel
• dünkelhaft
• Gelehrtendünkel
• Klassendünkel
• Nationaldünkel
• Offiziersdünkel
• Rassendünkel
• Standesdünkel

References

• “Dünkel” in Duden online