fummeln
Appearance
German
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Borrowed from Middle Low German fummelen, fimmelen, perhaps ultimately imitative of fumbling.[1] Or, from Proto-Indo-European *pal- (“to shake, swing”), see also Latin palpo (“I pat, touch softly”), and possibly Proto-Germanic *fōlijaną (“to feel”).[2]
Pronunciation
[edit]Verb
[edit]fummeln (weak, third-person singular present fummelt, past tense fummelte, past participle gefummelt, auxiliary haben)
- to fumble (idly touch or nervously handle)
- Synonym: nesteln
- to fiddle (adjust in order to cover a basic flaw)
- Synonym: frickeln
- (colloquial, somewhat dated) to make out (engage in sexual activities)
- Synonym: rummachen
- 2024 May 16, Silvia Süess, “Beim Einparkieren den Ausweg finden”, in WOZ[1]:
- Und auch in «Auf allen vieren» wird weiter unverblümt gefummelt, geleckt, gefingert, gerieben, geflüstert und fantasiert. Das liest sich manchmal verstörend und mit Fremdscham, meist aber vergnüglich und sehr lustvoll.
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Conjugation
[edit]infinitive | fummeln | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
present participle | fummelnd | ||||
past participle | gefummelt | ||||
auxiliary | haben | ||||
indicative | subjunctive | ||||
singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
present | ich fummle ich fummele ich fummel |
wir fummeln | i | ich fummele ich fummle |
wir fummeln |
du fummelst | ihr fummelt | du fummelest du fummlest |
ihr fummelet ihr fummlet | ||
er fummelt | sie fummeln | er fummele er fummle |
sie fummeln | ||
preterite | ich fummelte | wir fummelten | ii | ich fummelte1 | wir fummelten1 |
du fummeltest | ihr fummeltet | du fummeltest1 | ihr fummeltet1 | ||
er fummelte | sie fummelten | er fummelte1 | sie fummelten1 | ||
imperative | fummle (du) fummel (du) fummele (du) |
fummelt (ihr) |
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Derived terms
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “fumble”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959) “2313”, in Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 3, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 2313
Further reading
[edit]Categories:
- German terms borrowed from Middle Low German
- German terms derived from Middle Low German
- German onomatopoeias
- German terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- German 2-syllable words
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio pronunciation
- German lemmas
- German verbs
- German weak verbs
- German verbs using haben as auxiliary
- German colloquialisms
- German dated terms
- German terms with quotations
- German frequentative verbs