Kauz

German

Etymology

Inherited from Middle High German kūz, kūze, from Old High German *kūz, from Proto-West Germanic *kūt, from Proto-Germanic *kūts (“bird of prey”), from Proto-Indo-European *gū- (“to cry, screech”). Cognate with Old English cȳta (“kite, bittern”). See kite. For the sense "crank, old codger" compare English coot (“a foolish or eccentric old person”), which also refers to the bird known as the coot.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kaʊ̯t͡s/
  • Audio (Germany (Berlin)):(file)

Noun

Kauz m (strong, genitive Kauzes, plural Käuze)

  1. owl; (specifically) strigid
  2. (figurative) crank, odd fellow, codger
    • 1903, Thomas Mann, Tristan‎[1]; republished as Helen Tracy Lowe-Porter, transl., Stories of Three Decades, 1922, page 144:
      Ein Kauz, ein ganz wunderlicher Kauz! Herrn Klöterjahns Gattin dachte zuweilen nach über ihn, denn sie hatte sehr viel Zeit zum Nachdenken.
      An odd sort, a very odd sort. Herr Klöterjahn's wife thought about him sometimes; for she had much leisure for thought.

Declension

Declension of Kauz [masculine, strong]
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein der Kauz die Käuze
genitive eines des Kauzes der Käuze
dative einem dem Kauz, Kauze1 den Käuzen
accusative einen den Kauz die Käuze

1Now rare, see notes.

Derived terms

See also

Further reading

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