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Gewalt

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

German

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Etymology

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From Middle High German gewalt, from Old High German giwalt, from Proto-West Germanic *gawald, from Proto-Germanic *gawaldą, from *ga- +‎ *waldą (“power, authority”). Cognate with Bavarian Gwoit, Yiddish געוואַלד (gevald), Dutch geweld, English wald.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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Gewalt f (genitive Gewalt, plural Gewalten)

  1. strong or violent force
    Naturgewalt ― force of nature
    Schrauben mit Gewalt herausreißen ― to rip out screws with force
    • 1782, “Erlkönig”, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (lyrics), various composers, most notably Franz Schubert (music):
      Und bist du nicht willig, so brauch' ich Gewalt.
      And if thou art not willing, then I will use force.
    • 1921, Elisabeth von Heyking, Die Trommel, in Weberin Schuld, G. Grote'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 13:
      Und dann war plötzlich ein rastloses Sehnen über sie gekommen, und mit unwiderstehlicher Gewalt hatte es sie aus der Ferne hierher zurückgezogen in das Haus, wo das Glück einst wohnte.
      And then she had suddenly been overcome by a restless longing, and with irresistible force she had been drawn back out of the distance here into the house where the happiness once lived.
  2. violence [with gegen (+ accusative) ‘against someone/something’]
    häusliche Gewalt ― domestic violence
    Gewalt gegen Sachen ― violence against inanimate objects
  3. physical control or power [with über (+ accusative) ‘over someone/something’]
    die Gewalt über die Geiseln ― control of the hostages
  4. (now restricted to specific contexts) authority; legally established control or power [with über (+ accusative) ‘over someone/something’]
    Staatsgewalt ― governmental authority
    Verfügungsgewalt über persönliches Eigentum ― free disposal of one’s personal property (literally, “authority of disposal [...]”)

Declension

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Declension of Gewalt [feminine]
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative eine die Gewalt die Gewalten
genitive einer der Gewalt der Gewalten
dative einer der Gewalt den Gewalten
accusative eine die Gewalt die Gewalten

Hyponyms

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Derived terms

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Nouns:

Adjectives:

Adverbs:

Verbs:

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Descendants

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  • → Polish: gwałt (“rape”)
    • → Belarusian: гвалт (hvalt)
    • → Russian: гвалт (gvalt)
    • → Ukrainian: ґвалт (gvalt)

Further reading

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Pennsylvania German

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Etymology

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From Middle High German gewalt, from Old High German giwalt, from Proto-West Germanic *wald. Compare German Gewalt, Dutch geweld.

Noun

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Gewalt f

  1. power
  2. violence
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