Plemp

Limburgish

Alternative forms

• plimp (Veldeke spelling)
• Plimp (alternative spelling)
• Plämmp (Eupen)
• Plömp, Plümp

Etymology

Unknown. Various proposed etymologies exist:

1. Of substrate origin. Supported by the fact no obvious/clear cognates exist in other Germanic languages (except for westernmost Ripuarian Plimp, Plemp, which very well may be a borrowing from Limburgish or of the same substrate origin as proposed).
2. Back-formation from Plemper (which was analysed as a plural form), from Wemper (“eyelash”) (cf. German Wimper and Dutch wimper) with l-epenthesis and p-anticipation, from a compound of a first element thought to have been derived from Ancient Greek ἴονθος (íonthos, “downy hair”) and a second element that is a reduced form of Brau, Brou (“brow”).
3. From Flemp (note that pl- to fl- and vice versa is not an uncommon sound-shift in Limburgish), from earlier vlimme (“fishbone, prickle of an ear of grain”), from Middle Dutch vimme, an alternative form of vinne (“fin”), from Proto-West Germanic *finnā, from Proto-Germanic *finnǭ, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peyh₂- (“pointy”). It is also possible that Flemp comes from this term instead.
4. From plempe (“to blink”). Debrabandere compares it with dialectal pempelen (“to blink”) and Brabantian Dutch plinken (“to wink”). It is also possible that the verb is derived from the noun and not the other way round.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈplemp/
• Rhymes: -emp

Noun

Plemp f (plural Plempe or Plemper) (German-based spelling, Rheinische Dokumenta spelling)

1. lash, eyelash

   Synonyms: Ougsbrau, Flemm, Flemp, Wempel, Wemper

Derived terms

• Ougplemp
• Ougsplemp
• plempe
• Plemphoor