keifen
Appearance
German
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle High German kīben, from Old High German *kīban, from Proto-West Germanic *kīban (“to quarrel”).
The modern form with a fricative is of Low and West Central German origin; compare Middle Low German kīven. The original plosive is preserved in the Upper German iterative form kibbeln and keppeln, in Bavarian keppln, and in Alemannic German kebbeln. Cognate with Dutch kijven.
Pronunciation
[edit]Verb
[edit]keifen (weak, third-person singular present keift, past tense keifte, past participle gekeift, auxiliary haben)
- to scold or nag sharply (stereotypically of older women)
- ein keifendes altes Weib ― a nagging old broad
Conjugation
[edit]infinitive | keifen | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
present participle | keifend | ||||
past participle | gekeift | ||||
auxiliary | haben | ||||
indicative | subjunctive | ||||
singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
present | ich keife | wir keifen | i | ich keife | wir keifen |
du keifst | ihr keift | du keifest | ihr keifet | ||
er keift | sie keifen | er keife | sie keifen | ||
preterite | ich keifte | wir keiften | ii | ich keifte1 | wir keiften1 |
du keiftest | ihr keiftet | du keiftest1 | ihr keiftet1 | ||
er keifte | sie keiften | er keifte1 | sie keiften1 | ||
imperative | keif (du) keife (du) |
keift (ihr) |
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Derived terms
[edit]Categories:
- German terms inherited from Middle High German
- German terms derived from Middle High German
- German terms inherited from Old High German
- German terms derived from Old High German
- German terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- German terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- German terms derived from Middle Low German
- 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 terms with usage examples