wursteln

Betekenis (Engels)

1. (weak) to meddle; to tamper
2. (weak) to potter; to be busy with minor works and tasks (e.g. about the house)
3. (weak) to struggle with everyday problems; to eke out a living

Synoniemen

wühlen

Vertalingen

démerder

Dialecten

Basel-Landschaft

wuurschtle

Gegevens verstrekt door: Deutsch-Schweizerdeutsches Wörterbuch

Uitgesproken als (IPA)

/ˈvʊʁstəln/

Etymologie (Engels)

Verwant aan Engels: wrestle

Verwant aan Nederlands: worstelen

In summary

From Wurst (“sausage”), thus originally “to make sausages” (compare wursten), and then figuratively in the sense of “to meddle, to tamper”.
In Low German areas the verb is likely to have been secondarily associated with an unrelated verb meaning “to wrestle, to struggle”, attested in Middle Low German worsteln and cognate with English wrestle and Dutch worstelen. Some senses and particularly the derivative sich durch etwas durchwursteln (“to struggle through sth.”) are most readily explained as being linked to this Low German verb.
By surface analysis, Wurst + -eln.