Felsen

Meaning

rock

Concepts

rock

cliff

boulder

stone

rocks

crag

abyss

chasm

mountain

pass

gully

ravine

Gender

♂️ Masculine

Etymology

From Middle High German felse, fels, from Old High German fels m (8. c), felis m (8. c), feliso m (8. c), felisa f (9. c), possibly from Proto-West Germanic *falis (“rock, cliff”), whence Old Saxon felis, Middle Dutch vels.
Pfeifer is uncertain about the further origin. In one theory, he mentions the comparison to Old Norse fjall, Swedish fjäll, Sanskrit पाषाण (pāṣāṇá), Ancient Greek πέλλα (pélla), Old Irish all (from Proto-Celtic *ɸallom) and thus reconstructs Proto-Indo-European *pels-, *pelis-. In another theory he mentions, the Old High German, Old Saxon and Middle Dutch terms are taken as a continuation of Pre-Indo-European *palá- (“mountain”) whence also falaise (“cliff”).

Sentences

Er benannte ihn nach einem großen Felsen am Südufer des Sees .

He named it after a large rock on the south shore of the lake.