Zeug

See also: zeug

German

Alternative form

  • Zeugs (chiefly informal and pejorative)

Etymology

From Middle High German ziuc (“stuff, gear”), from Old High German giziug, from Proto-Germanic *tiugiją (“stuff, gear, device”). Compare Dutch tuig (“tool, gear”), Old Norse tygi (“gear”). More at toy.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /t͡sɔʏ̯k/ (standard)
  • IPA(key): /t͡sɔʏ̯ç/ (in northern and central Germany; chiefly colloquial)
  • Audio(file)

Noun

Zeug n (genitive Zeugs or Zeuges, plural Zeuge)

  1. stuff, gear, equipment
  2. material
  3. fabric, clothing, clothes

Usage notes

  • The plural Zeuge is quite rare (except in compounds such as Fahrzeug). Generally, Zeug is treated as uncountable. An obsolete alternative plural is Zeuger.
  • Until the 19th century, Zeug was often treated as masculine by southern writers, except in the sense “fabric”, where the masculine was very rare. This usage is now obsolete and Zeug is exclusively neuter in contemporary German.

See also

Further reading

  • Zeug in Duden online
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