Kamel

See also: kamel

German

Alternative forms

• Kameel (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle High German kemel, kemmel, kembel, borrowed during the Crusades from Byzantine Greek κάμηλος (kámēlos), probably in part also from Arabic جَمَل (jamal), which best explains the e-vocalism (as Arabic a is [æ] or even [ɛ] in this word). The modern form with final stress is a 16th-century learned alteration after Latin camēlus, itself from Ancient Greek, from a Semitic language. It was accordingly mostly spelt Kameel until the early 20th century (a spelling then abolished after words like Klientel, parallel). An older term for the animal was Old High German olbenta.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaˈmeːl/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eːl

Noun

Kamel n (strong, genitive Kamels or Kameles, plural Kamele, feminine Kamelin or Kamelstute)

1. a camel
2. (informal, dated) a stupid person

Declension

Declension of Kamel [neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Kamel	die	Kamele
genitive	eines	des	Kamels, Kameles	der	Kamele
dative	einem	dem	Kamel, Kamele1	den	Kamelen
accusative	ein	das	Kamel	die	Kamele

¹Now rare, see notes.

Hyponyms

(camel):

• einhöckeriges Kamel, einhöckriges Kamel, Einhöcker = Dromedar
• zweihöckeriges Kamel, zweihöckriges Kamel, Zweihöcker = Trampeltier (modern strict sense)

Derived terms

• Großkamel = Altweltkamel
• Kleinkamel = Neuweltkamel

Related terms

• Kamelhalsfliege
• Kamelhaar
• Kameldorn
• Kamelreiterei
• Kameltreiber
• Kamelziege

Descendants

• → Kashubian: kamel
• → Lower Sorbian: kamel

See also

• Dromedar
• Kamelie
• Kamelopard
• Trampeltier

Further reading

• “Kamel” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Kamel” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “Kamel” in Duden online
• Kamel on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^de
• Allgemeines Polyglotten-Lexicon der Natur-Geschichte mit erklärenden Anmerkungen von Philipp Andreas Nemnich, 1793, column 774ff. It mentions that the terms "Kamel" and "Dromedar" were used with different meanings. Then it states that "Dromedar" is more commonly used for the einhöckrige Kamel and suggest using "Trampelthier" for the zweihöckrige Kamel.
• Das Kameel und das Trampelthier ["Kameel" = zweihöckriges Kamel; "Trampelthier" = einhöckriges Kamel]. In: Deutsche Dichter. Erläutert von M. W. Götzinger, 1st part, 2nd edition, 1844, page 152.