Central Franconian

Alternative forms

• Zand (Moselle Franconian; some dialects of Ripuarian)
• Zank (Ripuarian; now chiefly western dialects)

Noun

Zahn m ‎(plural Zäng, diminutive Zähnche)

1. (some dialects of Ripuarian) tooth

German

Etymology

From Middle High German zan, zant, from Old High German zan, zand, from Proto-Germanic *tanþs, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃dónts. The Old High German nominative zan alongside zand is not quite clear, but may go back to an inherited variation that was levelled in the other old languages. The stems zan- and zand- were then used indiscriminately in Middle High German. The victory of the form without -d might have been reinforced by the widespread dialectal development: intervocalic -nd- → -nn-, which produced d-less inflected forms even in dialects that used zand-. Cognates include Dutch and Danish tand, English tooth. See the latter for more.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [t͡saːn]
• Rhymes: -aːn

Noun

Zahn m ‎(genitive Zahns or Zahnes, plural Zähne, diminutive Zähnchen n or Zähnlein n)

1. tooth
2. fang
3. tusk
4. cog, tine

Declension

Derived terms