Hampelmann

German

FWOTD – 25 June 2014
Hampelmann

Etymology

From hampeln + Mann.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈhampl̩ˌman/, /ˈhampəlˌman/
  • (file)

Noun

Hampelmann m (genitive Hampelmanns or Hampelmannes, plural Hampelmänner, feminine Hampelfrau)

  1. jumping-jack (toy)
  2. (by extension) person who is weak of will and easily influenced: pushover, puppet
    • 1921, Rudolf Steiner, Menschenerkenntnis und Unterrichtsgestaltung, 6th speech
      Wir dürfen nicht Hampelmänner der Zeitrichtung sein, die sich am Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts und am Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts herausgebildet hat.
      We are not allowed to be jumping-jacks of the direction of our time, which has formed in the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century.
  3. (by extension) hyperactive person; spaz
  4. jumping-jack (exercise)

Declension

Further reading

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