lebendig

From Middle High German lëbendic, from Old High German lëbēntīg. Equivalent to lebend +‎ -ig.

The word originally had normal stress on the initial syllable, as is still the case in Dutch levendig, Yiddish לעבעדיק (lebedik), and in some dialectal German forms such as Hunsrik levendich. The shift to the second syllable is first attested in the 16th century; it had established itself as the sole standard by the mid-18th century.[1] While such shifts happened more often in modern German (compare Forelle, Holunder, Wacholder), the case of lebendig is peculiar in that it is a transparent formation rather than a word whose derivation had become obscure.

• IPA^(key): /leˈbɛndɪç/, [le-], [lə-] (standard)

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• IPA^(key): /leˈbɛndɪɡ/ (common form in southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland)

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lebendig (strong nominative masculine singular lebendiger, comparative lebendiger, superlative am lebendigsten)

1. living, alive, animate

   Synonyms: lebend, am Leben

2. lively, vivacious, spirited, animated, vibrant, active, agile

   Synonym: lebhaft

• quicklebendig
• springlebendig

• Leben
• leben
• lebend
• lebensvoll
• lebhaft
• Lebendiger

• “lebendig” in Duden online
• “lebendig” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache