Seehund

German

Etymology

15th century, alteration of Seelhund, explanatory compound from now obsolete Seel (“seal”) + Hund (“dog”). The first component seems to have been inherited from Middle High German sele, seleh, from Old High German selah, from Proto-Germanic *selhaz (“seal”). For natural reasons it was a rare word, however, and was later reinforced by cognate Middle Low German sēl, also sēlhunt. Cognate with English seal, North Frisian selich, seel, Danish sæl. Ultimately reinterpreted as See (“sea”) +‎ Hund (“dog”); compare the same in Dutch zeehond.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): [ˈzeːˌhʊnt]
  • Audio(file)

Noun

Seehund m (strong, genitive Seehunds or Seehundes, plural Seehunde, diminutive Seehündchen n, feminine Seehündin)

  1. common seal, harbor seal (Phoca vitulina)
    Hypernym: Robbe
  2. (loosely) any seal
    Synonym: Robbe

Declension
Declension of Seehund [masculine, strong]
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein der Seehund die Seehünde
genitive eines des Seehunds, Seehundes der Seehünde
dative einem dem Seehund, Seehunde1 den Seehünden
accusative einen den Seehund die Seehünde

1Now rare, see notes.

Descendants
  • → Hebrew: כלב ים (kélev-yam) (calque)

See also

Further reading
  • “Seehund” in Duden online
  • “Seehund” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
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