“Stomach this!“
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Interesting bit about the word maw. The smell of rum ( and sometimes, the thought) makes my stomach turn. Before I stopped all drinking, at age 23, I got so sick on rum and coke that, 44 years later, I can’t tolerate the stuff!
Something similar happened to me with Rum and Fanta (don’t ask).
I’ve grown out of the disgust, but it took decades before I could drink rum again.
Are words like “Magersucht” related to Magen or come from the same PIE root? It seems like they would be related (hunger, leanness, empty stomachs), but maybe I’m also making what amounts to a cosmetic connection…
Great question! Definitely looks like it could be.
But the adjective “mager” and its English cousin “meagre” come from a root that was about “long, thin”.
Is there any particular way you would talk about getting a midnight snack? I saw “nächtliche Fressattacke” in a forum recently. Seemed kind of joking. I googled and got a lot of articles about sleep disorders and eating disorders, so I’m not sure if this is something I should add to my vocabulary.
“Mitternachtssnack” is perfectly idiomatic.
Hallo lieber Emanuel
Ich habe schon mir gefragt welche Unterschiede zwischen Bauch(der) und Magen ist . Endlich heute weiss ich ein bischen gänauer. Ich kannte die Ausdrucke wie “Bauchschmerzen, Schmeterling in Bauch haben …” .
Vielen Dank für diesen Beitrag .
Bis Morgen
Thanks.Very informative and entertaining,as usual. Can you give some information on Bauch?
What do you want to know?
Ooops. I forgot the R in the german translation Gastrostomie
I am not sure if it is the same in German but in English a stomach ache usually refers to a pain in the abdomen or intestines never in the actual stomach which is located under the ribs (sort of).
Another fun fact, the medical community still use the word stoma (ancient greek meaning hole) but it is an artificial hole that they made. Gastrostomy/Colostomy = Gastostomie/Kolostomie
Thank you for Day 9 and Good night
“Magenschmerzen” are definitely in the actual stomach in German. The other ones are called Bauchschmerzen.
Actually… how would you tell that you have pain in the actual stomach, if not with stomach ache?
Good morning from the Frühaufsteher in the US ;-)
In all my German learning I have never heard the term ‘der Magen’. I have always heard ‘der Bauch’. Google wasn’t much help in determining the difference. Is there a difference and which one is used the most, when you’re in Germany, talking about your stomach?
I think it’s pretty fair to say Magen:stomach::Bauch:belly/gut. The Magen is really the specific organ where swallowed food goes initially. Bauch is more generally the lower half of your abdomen, where your intestines and feelings are.
There are a lot of corresponding expressions, like Bauchgefühl = gut feeling. Of course, there are some differences – you get butterflies in your Bauch in German, not your Magen.
Is German then more correct? In English a lot of people say stomach when they’re talking about the belly – i.e. the lower half of their abdomen. The stomach is really the internal organ – which is actually higher up. You then have der Dünndarm (small intestine/bowel) – about 7 metres of it, and der Dickdarm (large intestine/bowel/colon), which are also incorrectly described as the stomach. If your stomach grumbles that’s das Magenknurren, though in reality it’s your Dünndarm that knurrt. And no I’m not a doctor.
Wait, the Knurren comes from the Dünndarm?! I didn’t know that!
“Magen” is the organ “stomach”. “Bauch” is the body part “belly”. The “Magen” is in the Bauch and after the Magen comes the “Darm”.
I’d say maw in English sounds (in meaning) more like Maul – more often a mouth than a stomach, even though apparently it can mean both. As you say, it’s a bit antiquated and probably most often used figuratively.
Yeah – see my earlier rant about etymology.
„The maw of Hell‘ = the wide, gaping jaws (of Hell, in this case) – or hunger/voracious appetite as in „his maw of money“.
So, it starts with an „ma“ must be related to „Magen“.
What I want to ask is „wen hat Maw geb…, um sich eine Beziehung zu Magen zu kriegen“ but that would be rude and some might find it offensive.
Instead I‘ll just ask who, when they looked through the few written words before 900, decided that there is a relationship between Magen and Maw (voracious hunger/gaping hole, NOT tummy) and when are we gonna be asked to suspend belief to see how Bauch falls in there?
Meiner Meinung nach sind Etymologen die Fake News Super Spreaders der Akademia.
Well, again, at least according to dictionary.reference.com, “maw” apparently still can mean “(animal) stomach.” Just sayin’.
The whole “dropping a hard g sound” thing is pretty well attested, though. I mean, just look at Tag => day, or Bug => bow (of a boat/ship).
Apparently what’s actually related to Bauch is bucket :D
Maw is related to Magen via the Old English maga – “stomach; maw”. Maul comes from Proto-Germanic *mūlą – “muzzle” (It seems to have no survivor in Englilsh.). The roots of Magen and Maul are different. See Wiktionary.
Oh, thanks for checking about “maul”. I thought it would be related but didn’t look it up :)
Damn, since when do you have such passionate hate for Etymology … did something happen at Uni?
Funny, I was thinking along those lines. I was wondering if Maul is related (looks like no) and then I got to thinking about the mouth/stomach part. The only example I could think of where it mostly sounds like a stomach is Jonas in the maw of the great fish.
The other examples I thought of bring to mind something like into the mouth and down the throat. If I’m figuratively staring into the maw of the inferno or a massive problem, I’m probably picturing it swallowing me, or getting ready to. Same for looking into the maw of an angry bear (or unicorn). And with shoving food down my maw, I’m the swallower instead of the swallowee.
I’m halfway wondering what went wrong that I have so many thoughts about a word that really isn’t used very often.
Oh wow, Maul is probably related… I didn’t think of that, but it would make a lot of sense!
Nom nom nom :D
Exactly!!