Krake

See also: krake, krakë, and kråke

German

Alternative forms

• Kraken

Etymology

From Norwegian Kraken, definite singular of krake (“sea monster”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkʁaːkə/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Krake (traditional or scientific) m (weak, genitive Kraken, plural Kraken) or
Krake (colloquial) f (genitive Krake, plural Kraken)

1. (chiefly sciences) a mollusk of the order Octopoda; an octopus in the broader sense
2. (mythology or figuratively) a kraken (sea monster)

   Das Schiff wurde von einer Krake (einem Kraken) versenkt.

   The ship was sunk by a kraken.

   die/der Krake des Kapitalismus ― the kraken of capitalism

Usage notes

• Krake, Oktopus and Tintenfisch are all distinguished in scientific use. Non-specialist speakers, however, tend to reserve Krake to the sea monster and use Tintenfisch and Oktopus interchangeably.
• Prescriptive grammars define Krake as masculine, which is the traditional usage and is still common in some regions. On the whole, however, Krake is now predominantly treated as feminine outside of scientific use.

Declension

Declension of Krake [masculine (traditional or scientific), weak]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Krake	die	Kraken
genitive	eines	des	Kraken	der	Kraken
dative	einem	dem	Kraken	den	Kraken
accusative	einen	den	Kraken	die	Kraken

Declension of Krake [feminine (colloquial)]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Krake	die	Kraken
genitive	einer	der	Krake	der	Kraken
dative	einer	der	Krake	den	Kraken
accusative	eine	die	Krake	die	Kraken

Derived terms

• Löcherkrake (“common blanket octopus”)
• Riesenkrake (“giant octopus”)
• Zirrenkrake (“curled octopus”)

See also

• Oktopus
• Tintenfisch

Further reading

• “Krake” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Krake” in Duden online
• “Krake” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.