lebendig

From Middle High German lëbendic, from Old High German lëbēntīg. Equivalent to lebend +‎ -ig.

The word originally had normal stress on the initial syllable, as is still the case in Dutch levendig, Yiddish לעבעדיק‎ (lebedik), and in some dialectal German forms such as Hunsrik levendich. The shift to the second syllable is first attested in the 16th century; it had established itself as the sole standard by the mid-18th century.[1] While such shifts happened more often in modern German (compare Forelle, Holunder, Wacholder), the case of lebendig is peculiar in that it is a transparent formation rather than a word whose derivation had become obscure.

• IPA^(key): /leˈbɛndɪç/, [le-], [lə-] (standard)

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• IPA^(key): /leˈbɛndɪɡ/ (common form in southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland)

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lebendig (strong nominative masculine singular lebendiger, comparative lebendiger, superlative am lebendigsten)

1. living, alive, animate

   Synonyms: lebend, am Leben

2. lively, vivacious, spirited, animated, vibrant, active, agile

   Synonym: lebhaft

• quicklebendig
• springlebendig

• Leben
• leben
• lebend
• lebensvoll
• lebhaft
• Lebendiger

• “lebendig” in Duden online
• “lebendig” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache