quälen

Meaning

  1. to torture, to torment, to agonize
  2. to cause sorrow, to upset, to worry
  3. to harass, to bother
  4. to toil, to struggle

Frequency

C1
Dialects

Basel-Landschaft

Basel-Landschaft

blooge

Basel-Landschaft

Basel-Landschaft

gweele

Data provided by: Deutsch-Schweizerdeutsches Wörterbuch

Pronounced as (IPA)
/ˈkvɛːlən/
Etymology

In summary

From Middle High German queln, from Old High German quellen, from Proto-West Germanic *kwalljan, from Proto-Germanic *kwaljaną. The vowel was lengthened in modern German under the influence of the related noun Qual. Cognates include Dutch kwellen, English quell, Old Norse kvelja, and further Old Church Slavonic жаль (žalĭ, “pain”), Old Armenian կեղ (keł, “sore, ulcer”).

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