-keit

German

Etymology

Result of a wrong segmentation (rebracketing) of two suffixes in Upper German dialects of Middle High German: -ec (modern -ig) and -heit: -ec-heit was interpreted as -e-keit.[1] Later this phenomenon spread to other suffixes, and even to Central German dialects, in which the equivalents of -ig had never been pronounced with a final [k]-sound. (Compare the modern standard pronunciation of -ig [-ɪç].) However, in some northern dialects of Central German, like Ripuarian, -keit is still absent or has only recently been introduced from standard German.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /kaɪ̯t/, [kaɪ̯t]

Suffix

-keit f (plural -keiten)

  1. Alternative form of -heit
    ‎wirksam (“effective”) + ‎-keit → ‎Wirksamkeit (“effectiveness”)

Usage notes
  • See -heit for notes on the use of the two variants.

Derived terms
► <a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs14 CategoryTreeLabelCategory' href='/wiki/Category:German_words_suffixed_with_-keit' title='Category:German words suffixed with -keit'>German words suffixed with -keit</a>

References
  1. Kluge, Friedrich (1989), “-heit”, in Elmar Seebold, editor, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache [Etymological dictionary of the German language] (in German), 22nd edition, →ISBN
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