Neuter
Betekenis (Engels)

  1. (neuter, proper-noun) Berlin (the capital and largest city and state of Germany)
  2. (metonymically, neuter, proper-noun) Berlin (federal government of Germany)

Sinonieme

Spreeathen

Hauptstadt von Deutschland

deutsche Hauptstadt

Bärlin

Kitchener

Weltstadt mit Herz und Schnauze

Frekwensie

B2
Dialekte

Kanton Basel-Land

Kanton Basel-Land

bärlyyn

Data verskaf deur: Deutsch-Schweizerdeutsches Wörterbuch

Uitgespreek as (IPA)
[bɛʁˈliːn]
Etimologie (Engels)

In summary

The place is first mentioned by this name in the late 12th century (as Middle Low German Berlyn). The origin is unknown. Slavic by the suffix -in. According to (incorrect) folk etymology, the name is derived from the Bär (“bear”) that is the symbol of the city. In a popular etymology of Germanists, it is derived from a Polabian stem *berl- ~ *birl- (“swamp”), for which lexical item there is no evidence in Polabian nor in any Slavic language. Closest to that would be an unknown simpler relative of *bьrlogъ (“cave”). Attested vocabulary is Polabian poro (“swamp, bog”). *bělь also meant a “swampy meadow” or “white field”, which fits the location at the märkische Streusandbüchse, the “Margraviate pounce box” notorious for its sandy soil, and is also the noun behind Belitz.

Notes

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