Unke

Etymology

From Middle High German unc, unke ‘snake, basilisk’, from Old High German unk, unko ‘snake’, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂n̥gʷʰ-, variant of *h₂engʷʰ- (compare Latin anguis, Lithuanian angìs). The sense may have been influenced by obsolete Eutze ‘toad’ (modern Bavarian Hötsch).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʊŋkə/
• Hyphenation: Un‧ke

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

Unke f (genitive Unke, plural Unken)

1. fire-bellied toad (genus Bombina).
   • 2005, Cornelia Funke, Tintenblut, →ISBN

     Unkenaugen blickten ihn an aus einem fast menschlichen Antlitz, das lange Haar trieb im Wasser wie Gras, ebenso grün und fein.

     Toad-eyes looked at him from an almost human face, the long hair floated in the water like grass, just as green and fine.

Further reading

• Unke in Duden online