äugen

Meaning

1. (intransitive, weak) to look in a searching or cautious way (typically said of animals or of shy, anxious or curious persons)
2. (obsolete, transitive, weak) to show, allow to see

Synonyms

erblicken

sehen

👀

wahrnehmen

zu Gesicht bekommen

Dialects

Basel-Landschaft

gnaisse

Basel-Landschaft

linse

Basel-Landschaft

litze

Data provided by: Deutsch-Schweizerdeutsches Wörterbuch

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈɔʏ̯ɡən/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle High German: öugen

Inherited from Old High German: ougen

Cognate with Middle Dutch: ôgen

In summary

Formally from Middle High German öugen, ougen, from Old High German ougen, from Proto-West Germanic *augijan, all meaning “to show, let see”. By surface analysis, Auge (“eye”) + -en. The modern sense “to look” seems to be of northern origin, being first attested in Middle Low German ö̂gen, Middle Dutch ôgen (both 15th century). It only became common in standard German in the 19th century. There may also have been influence by äugeln (“to ogle, look flirtingly”), which had this sense already in Middle High German.