Imbiss

See also: Imbiß

German

Ein Imbiss

Alternative forms

• Imbiß (superseded)

Etymology

From Old High German inbīz, imbīz (“meal”), equivalent to in (“in, into”) +‎ Biss (“bite”). Compare Dutch ontbijt (“breakfast”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɪmbɪs]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Imbiss m (strong, genitive Imbisses, plural Imbisse)

1. snack

   Synonyms: Happen, Snack, Zwischenmahlzeit, Bissen

   • 1913 April 11 [1832], Александръ Пушкинъ, Русалка [The Mermaid]; translated and published as Alexander S. Puschkin, Henry von Heiseler, transl., “Die Russalka”, in Sämtliche Dramen, Leipzig: Rauch, 1934, →OCLC:

     Мельникъ.
     Милостивый князь,
     Добро пожаловать. Давно, давно
     Твоихъ очей мы свѣтлыхъ не видали.
     Пойду тебѣ готовить угощенье. (Уходитъ).

     Der Müller: Edler, gnädiger Fürst,
     Sei unsrem Haus willkommen! lange, lange
     Schon sahn wir deine hellen Augen nicht.
     Ich gehe, einen Imbiß dir zu schaffen. Er geht.

     Miller: Gracious Lord,
     Welcome to our house! For long, long,
     We have not seen your bright eyes.
     I go to prepare a snack for you. He goes.

2. snack bar, fast-food restaurant

   Synonym: Schnellrestaurant

Usage notes

• The spelling Imbiss has been the prescribed spelling since the German spelling reform of 1996 (the Rechtschreibreform). In Switzerland and Liechtenstein, it had already been standard since ⟨ß⟩ was deprecated in the 1930s. In the affected areas, the previous spelling (Imbiß) is now less common, and may be regarded as a misspelling.

Declension

Declension of Imbiss [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Imbiss	die	Imbisse
genitive	eines	des	Imbisses	der	Imbisse
dative	einem	dem	Imbiss, Imbisse1	den	Imbissen
accusative	einen	den	Imbiss	die	Imbisse

¹Now rare, see notes.

Derived terms

• Imbissstand m
• Imbissbude f
• Imbissstube f
• Schnellimbiss m

Further reading

• “Imbiss” in Duden online
• “Imbiss” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache