Wespe

Meaning

wasp (insect)

Concepts

wasp

bee

🐝

hornet

yellowjacket

hornets

honey

🍯

wasps

Vespidae

Synonyms

Biene

🐝

Hornisse

Hummel

Imme

🐝

Erdwespe

Vespidae

Westliche Honigbiene

Europäische Honigbiene

Wespenarbeiterin

Wespenweibchen

Wespenkönigin

Wespenmännchen

Arbeiterwespe

Mutterwespe

Wespendrohne

Translations

avispa

vespa

guêpe

wesp

vespa

vespa

vespa

σφήκα

yaban arısı

abeja

🐝

ape

🐝

abeille

🐝

eşekarısı

دَبُّور

Dialects

Basel-Landschaft

wäschpi

St. Gallen

gängar

Data provided by: Deutsch-Schweizerdeutsches Wörterbuch

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈvɛspə/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle High German: wefse

Inherited from Old High German: wefsa

Cognate with Swabian: Wefz

Cognate with Bavarian: Weps

Cognate with Dutch: wesp

Cognate with English: wasp

Cognate with French: guêpe

In summary

From Middle High German wefse, webse, wespe, from Old High German wefsa. The forms with -sp- come from Middle Low German wespe, from Old Saxon waspa (10th century, alongside older wepsia), spreading to Middle High German in the 12th century.
Some Upper German dialects retain the original consonantism to this day, e.g. Swabian Wefz, Bavarian Weps, Wepsn, Webasn, Webes. The spread of -sp- was reinforced, if not triggered, by Latin vespa. Popular association with the verb wispeln from Old High German hwispalōn (“to whir, to whisper”) is also likely; compare Central Franconian Wespel (“wasp”). Both the High German and the Low German forms go back to Proto-West Germanic *waspijā, a variant of *wapsu.
Cognates include Dutch wesp, English wasp, French guêpe. These are often traced back to Proto-Germanic *wapsō, from Proto-Indo-European *wobʰseh₂ (“wasp”), pertaining to *webʰ- (“to weave”). There are some formal problems to this particular reconstruction, however, most importantly the fact that Proto-Germanic *wapsō is an anomalous form lacking the expected effect of Primärberührung.