Etymology

spiel

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Today it means: A lengthy and extravagant speech or argument usually intended to persuade. Full definition →

German Spiel ← Yiddish שפּיל ← Middle High German spil
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spiel · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*spil
  2. Old High German · derived fromspil
  3. Middle High German · derived fromspil
  4. Yiddish · borrowed fromשפּיל
  5. German · borrowed fromSpiel“game, performance”
  6. English todayspiel

Borrowed from German Spiel (“game, performance”) or Yiddish שפּיל (shpil), both from Middle High German spil, from Old High German spil, from Proto-West Germanic *spil. Cognate with Old English spilian (“to revel, play”). See speel.

spiel · noun2

  1. Middle Low German · derived fromspel
  2. Scots · derived fromspiel“game, play; curling match”
  3. English todayspiel

From the Scots spiel (“game, play; curling match”) from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German spel.

Words from the same roots

GermanSpiel all →

goofspiel

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.