Zwetschge

German

Alternative forms

Quetsche (Lorraine, Alsace, Luxembourg, regional in Germany)
Zwetsche (Northern Germany, originally predominant, but now being superseded by the southern form)
Zwetschke (regional in Austria)

Etymology

From Middle High German Tzwetzschken, from the Vulgar Latin plural form *davascena, from Latin damascēna n pl (“damascene plums”), from Ancient Greek δαμασκηνά (damaskēná, “damascene plums”) itself from Ancient Greek Δαμασκός (Damaskós, “Damascus”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈtsvɛtʃ.ɡə]
Audio (file)

Noun

Zwetschge f (genitive Zwetschge, plural Zwetschgen)

plum (fruit)
freestone damson (Prunus domestica subsp. domestica)
Synonym: Zwetschgenbaum

Usage notes

A popular plum in Central Europe, similar to, but distinct from, the clingstone damson (Prunus domestica subsp. insititia)
In many parts of northern and central Germany no form of this word is common in everyday use as all plums are referred to with the general word Pflaume.

Declension

Declension of Zwetschge [feminine]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Zwetschge	die	Zwetschgen
genitive	einer	der	Zwetschge	der	Zwetschgen
dative	einer	der	Zwetschge	den	Zwetschgen
accusative	eine	die	Zwetschge	die	Zwetschgen

Derived terms

Zwetschgenbaum
Zwetschgenkuchen

Descendants

→ Czech: švestka
→ English: quetsch, quetsche, Quetsche
→ French: quetsche

Further reading

Zwetschge on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^de
“Zwetschge” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
“Zwetschge” in Duden online

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