Witz

See also: witz and -witz

German

Etymology

From Middle High German witz, from Old High German wizzi, from Proto-West Germanic *witi, from Proto-Germanic *witją from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“see, know”).

Cognate to English wit, archaic Dutch wit, akin to Old Saxon giwit.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vɪt͡s/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Witz m (strong, genitive Witzes, plural Witze, diminutive Witzchen n)

1. wit
2. joke

   Synonym: Scherz

   über einen Witz lachen

   to laugh at a joke

3. humour

Declension

Declension of Witz [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Witz	die	Witze
genitive	eines	des	Witzes	der	Witze
dative	einem	dem	Witz, Witze1	den	Witzen
accusative	einen	den	Witz	die	Witze

¹Now rare, see notes.

Hyponyms

• Antiwitz
• Blondinenwitz
• Flüsterwitz
• Insiderwitz
• Mantawitz
• Mutterwitz
• Schottenwitz
• Seemannswitz
• Treppenwitz

 

Derived terms

• gewitzt
• vorwitzig
• Witzchen
• Witzelei
• witzeln
• witzig
• Witzigkeit
• Witzling
• witzlos

 

Related terms

• Witzblatt
• Witzbold
• Witzfigur
• Witzseite
• Witzwort

 

Descendants

• → Bulgarian: виц (vic)
• → Danish: vits
• → Finnish: vitsi
• → Hungarian: vicc
• → Low German: Witz
• → Macedonian: виц (vic)
• → Norwegian: vits
• → Saterland Frisian: Wits
• → Serbo-Croatian: vic
• → Polish: wic
• → Silesian: wic
• → Slovene: vic
• → Swedish: vits
• → Ukrainian: віц (vic)

See also

• Anekdote
• Kalauer
• Zote
• Gag

Further reading

• “Witz” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.
• “Witz” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Witz” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “Witz” in Duden online
• “Witz” in OpenThesaurus.de
• Witz on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^de

Hunsrik

Etymology

From Middle High German witze, from Old High German wizzi, from Proto-West Germanic *witi, from Proto-Germanic *witją.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vit͡s/

Noun

Witz m (plural Witz)

1. wit
2. joke

Further reading

• Piter Kehoma Boll (2021) “Witz”, in Dicionário Hunsriqueano Riograndense–Português (in Portuguese), 3rd edition, Ivoti: Riograndenser Hunsrickisch, page 177

Luxembourgish

Etymology

From Middle High German witze, from Old High German wizzi, from Proto-West Germanic *witi, from Proto-Germanic *witją.

Cognate with German Witz, English wit, Dutch wit, Icelandic vit.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vit͡s/

Noun

Witz m (plural Witzen or Witzer)

1. joke

Further reading

• Witz in the Lëtzebuerger Online Dictionnaire