meiden

Meaning

  1. (class-1, strong, transitive) to avoid, to keep away from
  2. (class-1, strong, transitive) to shun

Frequency

C1
Pronounced as (IPA)
/ˈmaɪ̯dən/
Etymology

In summary

From Middle High German mīden, from Old High German mīdan, from Proto-West Germanic *mīþan. Cognate with Dutch mijden and Old English mīþan (archaic English mithe). The expected past forms in modern German would be *mitt, *gemitten (as still in leiden, schneiden), but the Grammatischer Wechsel was levelled out (perhaps to avoid the similarity with unrelated mit, mitten). To meiden was then adapted scheiden, whose original past participle was gescheiden.

Notes

Sign in to write sticky notes