i-Dötzchen

Meaning

first-year pupil; child who has just started school; abecedarian

Synonyms

Abc-Schütze

Schulanfänger

Erstklässler

i-Dotz

i-Männchen

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈiːˌdœts.çən/

Etymology

Cognate with Dutch: dot

Cognate with English: dot

In summary

Partial calque of Central Franconian i-Dötzje (“first-year pupil”), from the letter i, which was traditionally the first letter that school children learnt, and the noun Dotz (“little, often chubby, child”). This word’s original meaning is "knob, bump", it being probably cognate with Dutch dot, English dot. The word i-Dötzje might therefore alternatively be derived from i-Dotz meaning "dot of the i", as has been proposed; but neither is this latter sense in general use, nor does the derivation suggest itself semantically.