Geißel

• Geissel (Switzerland, Liechtenstein)

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡaɪ̯səl/

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From Middle High German geisel(e), from Old High German geisila (“whip”). Cognate with Dutch gesel. The spelling with -ß- reflects sporadic devoicing; compare the frequent pronunciations of niesen or Preiselbeere. Its use for distinguishing between Geißel and Geisel (“hostage”) is an arbitrary convention, which fully established itself only around 1900. (The two words are not related but became merged in Early Modern German.)

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1. (Southern German, Austria, Switzerland) Synonym of Peitsche (“whip”)
2. (elsewhere only) scourge (whip used for flagellation)
3. (figurative) scourge (persistent source of harm, especially when seen as divine punishment)

   Synonyms: Plage, Heimsuchung

4. (biology) flagellum

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See the main lemma.

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1. Obsolete form (now misspelling) of Geisel (“hostage”)

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