lichterloh

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

German

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From lichter Lohe (with bright flame[s]). Compare Dutch in lichterlaaie (ablaze).

Pronunciation

[edit]
  • IPA(key): /ˈlɪçtɐˈloː/ (level stress)
  • IPA(key): /ˌlɪçtɐˈloː/ (final stress; alternatively when adverbial)
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -oː

Adjective

[edit]

lichterloh (strong nominative masculine singular lichterloher, not comparable)

  1. (of fire) fierce; large; blazing
    lichterloh brennento be ablaze
    • 1808, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, “Auerbachs Keller in Leipzig”, in Faust: Der Tragödie erster Teil [Faust, Part One]‎[1]; republished as Bayard Taylor, transl., 1870:
      Will keiner trinken? keiner lachen? / Ich will euch lehren Gesichter machen! / Ihr seid ja heut wie nasses Stroh, / Und brennt sonst immer lichterloh.
      Is no one laughing? no one drinking? / I'll teach you how to grin, I'm thinking. / To-day you're like wet straw, so tame; / And usually you're all aflame.
    • 2005, “Jung, dumm & glücklich”, in Frühjahrschronik, performed by Lee Buddah:
      Ein Funkenschlag, und wir standen in Flammen / Wir brannten lichterloh und fackelten nicht erst lang
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Usage notes

[edit]
  • Chiefly used as an adverb with verbs and expressions for burning, e.g. lichterloh brennen (to be burning fiercely, to be ablaze). More seldom as an adjective with nouns for fire, e.g. ein lichterloher Brand (a blazing fire).

Declension

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
  • lichterloh” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
  • lichterloh” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon