Murmeltier

See also: murmeltier

German

Alternative forms

• Murmel n (informal backformation)

Etymology

From Middle High German murmeltier (14th c.), folk-etymological alteration as murmeln (“to murmur”) +‎ Tier (“animal”) of older murmendīn, from Old High German murmunto (probably through a diminutive *murmuntīn), from Latin mūrem montis (accusative, literally “mountain rat”). Compare English marmot.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmʊrməlˌtiːr/, [ˈmʊʁ.məlˌti(ː)ɐ̯], [ˈmʊɐ̯-], [-ml̩-]

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Noun

Murmeltier n (strong, genitive Murmeltiers or Murmeltieres, plural Murmeltiere)

1. marmot

Declension

Declension of Murmeltier [neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Murmeltier	die	Murmeltiere
genitive	eines	des	Murmeltiers, Murmeltieres	der	Murmeltiere
dative	einem	dem	Murmeltier, Murmeltiere1	den	Murmeltieren
accusative	ein	das	Murmeltier	die	Murmeltiere

¹Now rare, see notes.

Hyponyms

• Waldmurmeltier

Descendants

• → Cimbrian: murmeltier

Further reading

• “Murmeltier” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Murmeltier” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “Murmeltier” in Duden online