wéini

Luxembourgish

Alternative forms

• wéinéi (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle High German wanee, wan ē, *wen ē, from wan, wen (“when”) + ē (“earlier”); compare Dutch wanneer, obsolete German wannehe. Ultimately equivalent to Proto-West Germanic *hwan + *airi.

The Luxembourgish -éi- is irregular (as if from Middle High German *wēnē), perhaps from emphatic usage, in which the disyllabic form was preferred. Luxembourgish later lost the monosyllabic form altogether (as did Dutch).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvei̯ni/, [ˈvɜɪ̯.ni]

Adverb

wéini

1. (interrogative) when