Schuft

See also: schuft

German

Etymology

According to Kluge, borrowed from Middle Low German schūvūt (“eagle owl”) (itself onomatopoeic in origin). The word may have been applied to criminals because, like the bird, they shy away from the light of day.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ʃʊft]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʊft

Noun

Schuft m (strong, genitive Schuftes or Schufts, plural Schufte)

1. scoundrel, villain

Declension

Declension of Schuft [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Schuft	die	Schufte
genitive	eines	des	Schuftes, Schufts	der	Schufte
dative	einem	dem	Schuft, Schufte1	den	Schuften
accusative	einen	den	Schuft	die	Schufte

¹Now rare, see notes.

Derived terms

• schuftig

Further reading

• “Schuft” in Duden online
• “Schuft” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• Friedrich Kluge (2002) “Schuft”, in Elmar Seebold, editor, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache [Etymological Dictionary of the German Language] (in German), 24th edition, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN

Plautdietsch

Etymology

From Middle Low German schūvūt (“eagle owl”), of imitative origin.

Noun

Schuft m (plural Schuften)

1. scoundrel, rogue, scamp