zicken

German

Etymology

From Middle High German zicken (to bicker, push, tease), related to Middle High German zic (a tap, nudge; teasing, malicious act). Perhaps a variant of Middle High German zecken (to tap, nudge), from Old High German zehhōn (to stimulate, incite), from Proto-West Germanic *tikkōn (to tap, nudge). Alternatively, perhaps derived from Middle High German zickīn (young goat, kid), from Old High German zickīn (kid), from Proto-West Germanic *tikkīn. German sicken (to be annoyed) has a similar meaning but is unrelated.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [t͡sɪkn̩]
  • Audio (Germany (Berlin)):(file)
  • Hyphenation: zi‧cken

Verb

zicken (weak, third-person singular present zickt, past tense zickte, past participle gezickt, auxiliary haben)

  1. (intransitive, colloquial, derogatory) to bitch, to grumble (chiefly of women)
    Synonym: (either gender) herumnörgeln
  2. (colloquial) to cause problems

Conjugation

Derived terms

Further reading

  • zicken” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
  • zicken” in Duden online
  • zicken” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
  • zicken” in OpenThesaurus.de