Lauch

From Middle High German louch, from Old High German louh, from Proto-Germanic *laukaz. Compare Low German Look, look, Dutch look, English leek, Danish løg, Swedish lök.

• IPA^(key): [laʊ̯χ]

• Audio

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Lauch m (strong, genitive Lauches or Lauchs, plural Lauche)

1. leek

   Synonyms: Porree, Breitlauch, Winterlauch

• The synonymous term Porree is dominant in northern and central Germany, while Lauch is dominant in southern Germany and Switzerland; in Austria, neither is dominant. Around the turn of the 21st century, Lauch permeated the whole language area to some degree, barring rural areas. The Atlas der deutschen Alltagssprache contains further mapping as for the 2010s situation.

Lauch m (strong, genitive Lauchs, plural Lauchs or Lauche)

1. (slang) pencil-neck (somebody with thin body measurements) [from 2000s]
   • 2022 October 8, “Spiegel TV Programm. Muskeln um jeden Preis”, in Der Spiegel, number 41, page 37:

     Reporter Mario Apfelbaum ist, wie er selbst sagt, ein schlaksiger »Lauch«. Für Vox Inside will er sich verändern und absolviert drei Monate lang intensives Muskeltraining.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. (slang, derogatory) wimp, pencil-neck (weak, pathetic person) [from 2000s]

   Synonyms: Schwächling, Opfer

   • 2016, “Fanpost 2”, performed by Kollegah:

     Was wollt ihr jetzt machen, he? Werft ihr wieder Sektpullen? / Wie damals, als Animus vor dei'm Haus stand / Und du Lauch dann aus Angst erst zwei Tage später wieder rauskamst

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

• “Lauch” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Lauch” in Duden online
• Lauch on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^de
• Lauch (Schimpfwort) on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^de