behände

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German

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle High German behende (suitably, conveniently, skilfully, quickly), univerbation of Old High German henti (literally at hand).[1][2]

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /bəˈhɛndə/
  • Audio:(file)

Adjective

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behände (strong nominative masculine singular behänder, comparative behänder, superlative am behändesten)

  1. agile, nimble

Usage notes

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  • The spelling behände has been the prescribed spelling since the German spelling reform of 1996 (the Rechtschreibreform). In the affected areas, the previous spelling (behende) is now less common, and may be regarded as a misspelling.

Declension

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References

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  1. ^ Friedrich Kluge (1883) “behende”, in John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891
  2. ^ Wolfgang Pfeifer, editor (1993), “behende”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen (in German), 2nd edition, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN

Further reading

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  • behände” in Duden online
  • behände” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache