German

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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16th c., borrowed from Low German sacht, sachte (soft), from Middle Low German sachte, from Old Saxon *sāfti, from Proto-West Germanic *samftī (compare Proto-Germanic *sōmiz (agreeable, fitting)), from Proto-Indo-European *sóm-tu-, possibly from *sem- (one, whole).[1]

Doublet of sanft. Cognate with English soft.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /zaxt/, [zaχt]
  • Audio:(file)
  • Homophone: sagt (regional)

Adjective

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sacht (strong nominative masculine singular sachter, comparative sachter, superlative am sachtesten)

  1. gentle, soft
    Synonyms: behutsam, mild, sanft, zart
    Ein sachter Sommerwind wehte durch die Nacht.
    A gentle summer wind blew through the night.

Usage notes

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  • Adjectival use is less frequent than adverbial use. See below.

Declension

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Adverb

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sacht

  1. gently
    Synonyms: behutsam, sanft
    Er setzte das Kind sacht auf den Boden.
    He set the child gently on the ground.

References

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  1. ^ Guus Kroonen (2013) “samÞu-”, in Alexander Lubotsky, editor, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)‎[1], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 426

Further reading

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  • sacht” in Duden online

Plautdietsch

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Adjective

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sacht

  1. slow
  NODES
Note 3