Mahlzeit
German
[edit]Etymology
[edit]15th century, from Mahl (“meal”) Zeit (“time”). The word Mahl (a spelling variant of Mal) originally meant "mealtime", but was transferred to the meal itself. The compound then assumed the sense "mealtime", but ultimately underwent the same semantic development yet again. Compare Dutch maaltijd, English mealtide, Danish måltid, Icelandic máltíð.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]Mahlzeit f (genitive Mahlzeit, plural Mahlzeiten)
- meal
- Synonyms: Essen, Mahl
- Hyponyms: Morgenmahlzeit, Mittagsmahlzeit, Abendmahlzeit, Zwischenmahlzeit
- (dated) mealtime
- Synonym: Essenszeit
Declension
[edit]Declension of Mahlzeit [feminine]
| singular | plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| indef. | def. | noun | def. | noun | |
| nominative | eine | die | Mahlzeit | die | Mahlzeiten |
| genitive | einer | der | Mahlzeit | der | Mahlzeiten |
| dative | einer | der | Mahlzeit | den | Mahlzeiten |
| accusative | eine | die | Mahlzeit | die | Mahlzeiten |
Derived terms
[edit]Interjection
[edit]Mahlzeit!
- (colloquial) Ellipsis of gesegnete Mahlzeit or prost Mahlzeit (literally “blessed meal”); enjoy your meal!
- Synonym: (more formal) guten Appetit
- (colloquial) good day, good afternoon; greeting used around lunchtime, roughly between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., especially in the workplace
Derived terms
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- “Mahlzeit” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “Mahlzeit” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
- “Mahlzeit” in Duden online
- “Mahlzeit” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.