Etymologically
Log in

Mädchen

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 20 October 2026 at 18:01. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /ˈmɛːtçən/, /ˈmeːtçən/[1]
  • Austria, Southern-Germany: /ˈmeːtçɛn/[1]
  • Switzerland: /ˈmɛːtçɛn/[1]

Forms

Mädchen n (genitive Mädchens, plural Mädchen or (nonstandard, uncommon) Mädchens)[1] The expected form Mägdchen was still used by Lessing.[2][3] In the north the plural Mädchens is also found.[3][1]

Etymology

It is from German Magd + -chen, a diminutive of the noun in its old sense “girl, maiden”.[2][4][5] The first record is Middle Low German mēgedeken in the 15th century, followed by East Central German forms with a simplified consonant group in the early 16th century, and by the spelling ⟨Mägdchen⟩ in the 17th, from which the modern form arose.[4] Kluge dates the simplification to the middle of the 17th century in Thuringia and Saxony;[2] Low German Mäken shows another reduction.[2] Wiktionary also cites Middle High German magedichīn and reconstructs Proto-West Germanic *magaþukīn.[1]

Magd itself is Middle High German maget, Old High German magad, from Proto-Germanic *magaþs (“girl, maiden”), the same word as Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌲𐌰𐌸𐍃 (magaþs) and Old English mæġþ.[2][5] Duden connects it with the lost Germanic word for “boy” seen in 𐌼𐌰𐌲𐌿𐍃 (magus), while Kluge compares Celtic words and a root meaning “to nourish, suckle”; its further origin is uncertain.[5][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Middle Low German mēgedeken “little girl” is recorded in the 15th century.[4] A Cologne glossary of 1507 renders Latin virguncula “little girl” by mechdeken.[6]

Semantic evolution

The word spread into the written language from Low and Central German, where it belonged to everyday speech.[6] Luther used megdichen in his Table Talk but always Mägdlein in the Bible.[6] Paul notes that it first meant a female child; from the 18th century it also meant a grown, unmarried young woman, and a sweetheart, as in Lessing's wenn ich mein Mädchen küsse (“when I kiss my girl”).[3] In Lessing's Minna von Barnhelm Franciska is Minna's Mädchen, her maid, and compounds such as Stubenmädchen and Küchenmädchen name household servants.[3]

Mädchen für alles, a maid who did all the housework, is recorded from 1832 (Holtei); Pfeifer sees it as a translation of English maid of all work.[3][4] Duden notes that the word is no longer felt to be a diminutive.[5] The southern counterpart is Mädel, formed with the suffix -el.[4]

Timeline

  • 15th century – Middle Low German mēgedeken is first recorded.[4][2]
  • 1507 – A Cologne glossary has mechdeken for Latin virguncula.[6]
  • Early 16th century – East Central German Medichen.[4]
  • Mid-17th century – Mägdchen is simplified to Mädchen in Thuringia and Saxony.[2][3]
  • 18th century – The sense “young unmarried woman” becomes common.[3]
  • 1832 – Mädchen für alles is recorded.[3][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A girl, a female child: sie hat ein Mädchen bekommen “she has had a baby girl”.[7][1]
  2. A young, unmarried woman; a maiden.[7][1]
  3. (dated) A girlfriend.[7][8]
  4. (dated) A housemaid, a female domestic servant.[7][8]

Word family

  • Dienstmädchen
  • Kindermädchen
  • Zimmermädchen
  • Milchmädchen
  • Freudenmädchen
  • Magd
  • Mädel
  • Maid
  • English maiden

Usage notes

Mädchen is neuter, as a diminutive, but a later pronoun often follows the natural sex: das Mädchen … sie.[3] Mädchen für alles is now a colloquial, humorous name for someone, man or woman, who does every kind of job.[7][4] Für kleine Mädchen müssen is a joking euphemism for needing the toilet.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 591
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  5. ^ a b c d Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 525
  6. ^ a b c d Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 12, 1417
  7. ^ a b c d e f Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  8. ^ a b Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org