Furcht

German

Alternative forms

• Forcht (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle High German vorht, vorhte, from Old High German forhta, forahta, from Proto-Germanic *furhtō (“fear”), from Proto-Indo-European *pr̥k- (“to fear”). The modern vowel -u- is due to influence by the related verb fürchten. Cognate with obsolete Dutch vrucht (still in godsvrucht), Middle Low German vruchte. Also closely related with English fright, though this is from a different stem (Proto-Germanic *furhtį̄).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fʊrçt/, [fʊʁçt], [fʊɐ̯çt]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Furcht f (genitive Furcht, plural (very rare) Fürchte or (by suppletion) Befürchtungen)

1. fear; fright; anxiety

   Synonyms: Angst f, (North German) Bange f

Usage notes

• See Angst for notes on the distinction between Furcht and this (widely synonymous) word.

Declension

Declension of Furcht [feminine]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Furcht	die	Fürchte
genitive	einer	der	Furcht	der	Fürchte
dative	einer	der	Furcht	den	Fürchten
accusative	eine	die	Furcht	die	Fürchte

Derived terms

• Ehrfurcht
• furchtbar
• furchteinflößend
• furchterregend
• furchtlos
• furchtsam
• Gottesfurcht

 

Related terms

• fürchten

See also

• Schreck, Schrecken

Further reading

• “Furcht” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Furcht” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “Furcht” in Duden online