Knowing relations between words can help understand their meanings and build a more connected vocabulary network. Here, you can explore parents and offspring and discover the whole family.
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Sources for Etymology:
- Check "zug" on DWDS.de
Biggest German Dictionary, great for etymology, usage frequency and collocations) - "zug" on Wiktionary (English version)
(For etymological connections across European languages. Not always accurate) - Etymonline.com - Origins of English words
My favorite source for the origin of English words.
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So I’m wondering if i’m correct about Züge in this sentence – the idea is kind of like “excerpt” or “annecdote” right? Is the idea small “extracts” from a long period of time? Couldn’t see a definition on DWDS that seemed to fit it but am I right?
https://www.dwds.de/wb/Zug#1
Of course I’m only interested in the first few clauses of the sentence, but figured i might put the entire thing here cus it amuses me to have such a riddiculously long sentence:
Hierauf erzählte er mehrere, durch seine Leidenschaft zur Marquise interessanten, Züge: wie sie beständig, während seiner Krankheit, an seinem Bette gesessen hätte; wie er die Vorstellung von ihr, in der Hitze des Wundfiebers, immer mit der Vorstellung eines Schwans verwechselt hätte, den er, als Knabe, auf seines Onkels Gütern gesehen; daß ihm besonders eine Erinnerung rührend gewesen wäre, da er diesen Schwan einst mit Kot beworfen, worauf dieser still untergetaucht, und rein aus der Flut wieder emporgekommen sei; daß sie immer auf feurigen Fluten umhergeschwommen wäre, und er Thinka gerufen hätte, welches der Name jenes Schwans gewesen, daß er aber nicht im Stande gewesen wäre, sie an sich zu locken, indem sie ihre Freude gehabt hätte, bloß am Rudern und In-die-Brust-sich-werfen; versicherte plötzlich, blutrot im Gesicht, daß er sie außerordentlich liebe: sah wieder auf seinen Teller nieder, und schwieg.
by the way, what does “in-die Brust-sich -werfen” mean? Thats the other bit that seems unclear? Like when a swan kind of curls its neck to rest like here https://www.reddit.com/r/birds/comments/1q13xl4/sleeping_swan/
Sich in die Brust werfen is about puffing out the chest, either to brag or to intimidate. I would say it means this swan prancing here.
I do understand it as “Schwank” or “Anekdote” from context, but I don’t think Zug is used that way anymore. If someone said “Ich erzaehle einen Zug aus meinem Leben”, everyone would be guessing.
“da er diesen Schwan einst mit Kot beworfen, worauf dieser still untergetaucht,…”
LOL, this is such a funny mix of formal language, theatrical language and poetry.
yeah, was also thinking about how comical and absurd and kind of dreamlike the whole thing is.
And the swan has a name too. Which ends with A which to me makes it sound like a grime musician or something (obviously not Kleist’s intention)
Would “Auszug” make sense here ? Cus I’d thought of Auszug when i was reading it.
It would make more sense, but it’s not what a native speaker would use in daily life. Auszug sounds like an excerpt of something written.