Waage

Meaning

Frequency

C2
Dialects

Basel-Landschaft

Basel-Landschaft

woog

Data provided by: Deutsch-Schweizerdeutsches Wörterbuch

Pronounced as (IPA)
/ˈvaːɡə/
Etymology

In summary

From Middle High German wāge, from Old High German wāga, from Proto-West Germanic *wāgu (“scales”). Cognate with Dutch waag, English wey. The spelling Waage was used alongside Wage since at least the 17th century. As the etymological school of the 19th century favoured single vowels, some doubled spellings like baar, Schooß, Waage were abolished during the reforms of the early 20th century. However, the spelling Waage was standardised again by two decrees from the governments of Austria (March 1927) and Germany (July 1927) in order to avoid the ambiguity between plural Waagen and Wagen (“car[s], carriage[s]”), as for example in Waagenbau (“construction of scales”) versus Wagenbau (“construction of cars”).

Notes

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