Tünche

German

Etymology

Probably inherited from Middle High German *tüniche (only attested as tünich m), from Old High German tunihha (“whitewash”), from Latin tunica. Alternatively the modern noun (15th c.) could be a new derivation from tünchen, itself derived from the Old High German noun. Either way a doublet of Tunika.

The form tunihha instead of *zunihha probably implies a borrowing around the time when the High German consonant shift ceased to be active and was applied with various irregularities (cf. Latin porta, which appears as phorta, phorza and porza). Another possibility would be borrowing with initial d-. In fact the form Dünche occurs in Early Modern German, but tends to be interpreted as a later lenition.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtʏnçə/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Tünche f (genitive Tünche, plural Tünchen)

1. whitewash (lime-based kind of white paint)

Related terms

• tünchen