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ähnlich
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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German
Etymology
From Middle High German anelich, enlich (“alike”), from Old High German *analīh (attested in derivatives), a contraction of anagilīh, from Proto-Germanic *anagalīkaz, from *ana (“on”) + *galīkaz (“like”), that is “almost identical”. Compare German angleichen. Cognate with Middle Dutch aenlijck, English alike, Old Norse álíkr.
The contemporary form is possibly from a merger of Middle High German anelich with East Central German einlich, but it is uncertain whether the latter is from ein (“one”) + -lich (“-ly”) or merely an alteration of the former. The form may also have been reinforced by interpretation as Ahn (“ancestor”) + -lich. While this is a folk etymology that ignores the actual origin of the word, it isn't without its own merits. A semantic shift from "resembling your ancestor" to "resembling anything similar" Isn't far fetched, since due to a multitude of reasons (such as genetics), a person's ancestors are the people they are most alike to in terms of outward appearance, hence why this term could be thought of as a compound of Ahn (“ancestor”) + -lich, despite such an interpretation being unetymological.
Pronunciation
Adjective
ähnlich (strong nominative masculine singular ähnlicher, comparative ähnlicher, superlative am ähnlichsten)
- similar, alike, resembling [with dative or wie (+ case of preceding noun) ‘to someone/something’]
- 2017, Neuer Zürcher Zeitung, (headline), 6 April:
- Facebook behandelt «Revenge Porn» fortan ähnlich wie Kinderpornografie.
- Facebook to treat "revenge porn" similarly to child pornography.
- auf ähnliche Weise ― in a similar manner
- 2017, Neuer Zürcher Zeitung, (headline), 6 April:
Declension
Positive forms of ähnlich
Comparative forms of ähnlich
Superlative forms of ähnlich
Derived terms
Further reading
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