Luxembourgish

Noun

Denn m ‎(plural Dennen)

1. thrashing floor
   • Luxembourgish translation of Matthew 3:12:

     Elo schonn huet hien d'Schëpp an der Hand, mat där mécht hien säin Denn propper a sammelt säi Weess an der Scheier. D'Kuef awer verbrennt hien an engem Feier, dat ni ausgeet.

     Already he has the winnowing shovel in his hand, with which he will make his thrashing floor clean and gather his wheat into the barn. The chaff, however, he will burn in a fire that never goes out.

German

Etymology

Old variant of dann. The functional split between denn and dann was prescribed only by the grammarians of the 18th century. In colloquial German, the two words may still overlap. One may hear denn instead of dann in northern Germany, and vice versa in western and southern Germany.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɛn/, [dɛn]

Conjunction

denn

1. for; because; since
2. (after a comparative) than

Usage notes

The normal conjunction after a comparative is als; denn is generally archaic. Only in two cases is it still found in contemporary German:

• before als meaning “as, like”, in order to avoid reduplication: Er war nie glücklicher denn als kleiner Junge. — “He was never happier than as a little boy.” This usage is formal.
• before je ‎(“ever before”): Er ist glücklicher denn je. — “He is happier than ever before.” This usage is normal or only slightly formal. The combination als je is not common, but one can say als je zuvor.

Adverb

denn

1. (in a question) then; ever; but; used for general emphasis

   Wo ist er denn? - "Where is he, then?" ("Where ever can he be?")

   Wieso denn? - "How so, then?"

   Was denn? - "But what?"

   Was ist denn los? - "What's wrong, then?"

Derived terms

• dennoch

Old English

Noun

denn n

1. den