Wechselbalg
Appearance
German
[edit]Etymology
[edit]wechseln (“to exchange”) + Balg (“baby, brat”). Cognate to Dutch wisselbalg.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]Wechselbalg m (strong, genitive Wechselbalgs or Wechselbalges, plural (northern Germany) Wechselbälger or (southern Germany) Wechselbälge)
- (mythology) changeling (an infant that was secretly exchanged for a mother's own baby by an evil creature)
- (dated) child born out of wedlock
Declension
[edit]Declension of Wechselbalg [masculine, strong]
singular | plural | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
indef. | def. | noun | def. | noun | |
nominative | ein | der | Wechselbalg | die | Wechselbälger2, Wechselbälge3 |
genitive | eines | des | Wechselbalgs, Wechselbalges | der | Wechselbälger2, Wechselbälge3 |
dative | einem | dem | Wechselbalg, Wechselbalge1 | den | Wechselbälgern2, Wechselbälgen3 |
accusative | einen | den | Wechselbalg | die | Wechselbälger2, Wechselbälge3 |
1Now rare, see notes.
2Northern Germany.
3Southern Germany.
Further reading
[edit]- “Wechselbalg” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “Wechselbalg” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon