Wabe

German

Alternative forms

• Waben m (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle High German wabe, from Old High German waba f, wabo m, from the root of weben (“to weave”). Originally restricted to Upper German, standardized around 1800. A Central German synonym was Roß (Middle High German rāz), compare Dutch raat.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvaːbə/

• Audio (Austria):

  (file)

Noun

Wabe f (genitive Wabe, plural Waben)

1. (often in the plural) honeycomb

Usage notes

• The singular refers to a sheet of honeycomb in apiarian parlance, in layman’s use and figuratively also to a single cell:

Jede Wabe besteht aus sechseckigen Zellen. ― Every honeycomb is made up of hexagonal cells.

Jede Wabe ist sechseckig. ― Every honeycomb cell is hexagonal.

Declension

Declension of Wabe [feminine]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Wabe	die	Waben
genitive	einer	der	Wabe	der	Waben
dative	einer	der	Wabe	den	Waben
accusative	eine	die	Wabe	die	Waben

Derived terms

• Bienenwabe
• Honigwabe
• wabenförmig
• Wabenhonig
• Wabenmuster
• Wabenstruktur

Further reading

• “Wabe” in Duden online
• “Wabe” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache