Unke

See also: unke

German
FWOTD – 2 March 2014
Rotbauchunke

Etymology

From Middle High German unke (“snake, basilisk”), from Old High German unc (“snake”), from Proto-Germanic *unkwô, *unkwiz (“snake, adder”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂n̥gʷʰ-, variant of *h₂engʷʰ- (compare Latin anguis, Lithuanian angìs). The sense may have been influenced by obsolete Eutze ‘toad’ (modern Bavarian Hötsch).

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈʊŋkə/
  • Hyphenation: Un‧ke
  • Audio(file)

Noun

Unke f (genitive Unke, plural Unken)

  1. fire-bellied toad (genus Bombina).
    • 2005, Cornelia Funke, Tintenblut, →ISBN
      Unkenaugen blickten ihn an aus einem fast menschlichen Antlitz, das lange Haar trieb im Wasser wie Gras, ebenso grün und fein.
      Toad-eyes looked at him from an almost human face, the long hair floated in the water like grass, just as green and fine.

Declension
Declension of Unke
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative eine die Unke die Unken
genitive einer der Unke der Unken
dative einer der Unke den Unken
accusative eine die Unke die Unken

Synonyms
  • (archaic) Feuerkröte

Derived terms
Derived terms
  • Gelbbauchunke
  • Riesenunke
  • Rotbauchunke
  • Unkenruf

Further reading
  • Unke in Duden online
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