Flügel

German

Etymology

From Middle High German vlügel, from Old High German *flugil, from Proto-Germanic *flugilaz. Cognate with Yiddish פֿליגל (fligl), Dutch vleugel, Middle Low German vlȫgel.

The use for the grand piano (18th c.) is due to the similarity in form to a bird’s wing.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈflyːɡəl/, [ˈflyːɡl̩], [-ɡəl]
  • audio(file)
  • Hyphenation: Flü‧gel

Noun

Flügel m (strong, genitive Flügels, plural Flügel, diminutive Flügelchen n or Flüglein n)

  1. wing (of a bird, airplane, etc.)
    Der Vogel spreizte die Flügel.
    The bird spread its wings.
  2. leaf (of a door or window)
    Zweiflügelige Türelemente bestehen aus einem Gehflügel und einem Standflügel.
    Double-leaf door elements consist of a walking leaf and an inactive leaf.
  3. casement or sash (of a window)
    Der Flügel ist der bewegliche Teil des Fensters.
    The sash is the movable part of the window.
  4. blade or vane (of a propeller, impeller or turbine)
    Gab es einen besonders festlichen Anlass, wurden die Mühlenflügel in die Freudenschere gestellt.
    If there was a particularly festive occasion, the mill vanes were placed in the "shears of joy" position.
  5. wing (lateral part, especially of a building)
  6. (music) grand piano
    • 1931, Arthur Schnitzler, Flucht in die Finsternis, S. Fischer Verlag, page 14:
      Er begab sich ins Klavierzimmer, griff ein paar Akkorde auf dem verstimmten Flügel, verließ aber bald wieder den Raum, [...]
      He went to the piano room, struck a few chords on the out-of-tune grand piano, but soon left the room again, [...]
  7. (chiefly as Flügelchen) Short for Schwimmflügel (“water wing, armband, swimmy”).

Declension
Declension of Flügel [masculine, strong]
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein der Flügel die Flügel
genitive eines des Flügels der Flügel
dative einem dem Flügel den Flügeln
accusative einen den Flügel die Flügel

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Descendants
  • → Danish: flygel
  • → Esperanto: flugilo
  • → Norwegian Bokmål: flygel
  • → Norwegian Nynorsk: flygel
  • → Swedish: flygel

Further reading
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