müßig

German

Alternative forms

  • müssig

Etymology

From Middle High German müezic, müezec, from Old High German muozīg, from Proto-West Germanic *mōtīg (“opportune”), from *mōtijan (“to have opportunity”), from Proto-West Germanic *mōtā (“opportunity”). By surface analysis, Muße +‎ -ig.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈmyːsɪç/ (standard)
  • IPA(key): /ˈmyːsɪk/ (common form in southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland)
  • (file)
  • Hyphenation: mü‧ßig

Adjective

müßig (strong nominative masculine singular müßiger, comparative müßiger, superlative am müßigsten)

  1. idle, without occupation
  2. pointless, vain, inane
    Es ist müßig, … ― It would be otiose to …
    eine müßige Frage ― a pointless question

Declension

Derived terms

Further reading

  • “müßig” in Duden online
  • “müßig” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
  • “müßig” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
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