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Marienkäfer

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

German

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ein Marienkäfer

Etymology

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From Marien- (cf. genitive forms: Mariens, Mariä, Marias, der Maria (i.e. of the Mary)), a bound morpheme derived from Maria (Maria, Mary) +‎ Käfer (beetle). Compare ladybird and ladybug, where “lady” refers to the Virgin Mary.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /maˈʁiː.ənˌkɛː.fɐ/ (standard; used naturally in western Germany and Switzerland)
  • IPA(key): /-keː-/ (overall more common; particularly northern and eastern regions)
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: Ma‧ri‧en‧kä‧fer

Noun

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Marienkäfer m (strong, genitive Marienkäfers, plural Marienkäfer, diminutive Marienkäferchen n or Marienkäferlein n)

  1. ladybug / lady-bug, ladybird / lady-bird

Declension

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Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Further reading

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