Talk:Mädchen

Etymology

the etymology is wrong. It is not from Mädel, it is from Magd. Mädel is likewise a diminution of Magd, just with the -lein type ending instead of the -chen. CHalverson 00:36, 26 May 2011 (UTC)

This is wrong as well. Mädel is indeed just an alternative way to form the diminutive of the same root. However, that root is not Magd but Maid (a word nowadays primarily known from classic works of the 18th and 19th centuries). -- Gauss 07:15, 26 May 2011 (UTC)

Kluge Etymologisches Wörterbuch says "Mädchen … Wie Mädel u.a. eine Verkleinerungsform zu Magd (in dessen alter Bedeutung "Mädchen"). Die zu erwartende Form Mägdchen noch bei Lessing; die Vereinfachung beginnt in der Mitte des 17. Jhs. in Thüringen und Sachsen. Eine andere Vereinfachung in ndd. Mäke(n), md. Mäche(n)." The German word "Maid" comes according to DWDS from the contracted form of Middle High German "maget" (~Magd). Therefore it is not the case that Mädchen comes from Maid (eg, Magd>Maid>Mädchen). I'm changing it back. Where, btw, did you get the idea that Mädchen came from Maid? CHalverson 17:46, 26 May 2011 (UTC)

Maid is just a contraction of Magd, as you said. The cluster -ged-, -get- has often become -id-, -it- in German. Compare Getreide from older getregede. It is therefore completely fruitless to argue about whether Mädchen is derived from the one or the other. The two forms cannot be separated, because they were dialectal variants of the same word. Kolmiel (talk) 21:11, 4 November 2015 (UTC)

Maximum age of a Mädchen

@-sche, Jberkel: What do you think of this edit? ←₰-→ Lingo ^Bingo _Dingo (talk) 20:12, 17 January 2024 (UTC)

I don't think it's wise to indicate age ranges at all here. Angela Merkel was famously nicknamed "Das Mädchen" in her late 30s. Jberkel 21:44, 17 January 2024 (UTC)

I agree trying to pin down a specific age is unwise. Maybe something like:

Mädchen is typically used to refer to girls or young women. Unlike in English, where even older woman can be called girls in various circumstances, in German a woman is more often colloquially referred to by the related term Mädel.

? Or should we shorten this even more to just something like Compare Mädel.? - -sche (discuss) 22:56, 18 January 2024 (UTC)

@-sche, Jberkel: I think that the last alternative is very short. Perhaps the first alternative minus "where even (...) various circumstances" (or perhaps even omitting "Unlike in English") is enough. ←₰-→ Lingo ^Bingo _Dingo (talk) 21:27, 21 January 2024 (UTC)