Etepetete

Etepetete sein is an old idiom that is known both in the northern part of the German- speaking area and in Viennese and colloquially describes a person who behaves in public and being fussy. The similar word "etjerpotetjer" is passed down from Low German .

etymology

The phrase has been known since the middle of the 17th century and found its way into the street jargon of the Berlin middle class. It probably comes from the French saying être, peut-être , which actually means “can be, maybe” and symbolically means “to be in doubt” or “to seem more than to be”. The Low German word öte is given as an alternative source , which also describes fake and graceful demeanor .

meaning

The word "etepetete" originally stood for cautious, deliberate behavior, so it did not yet have a negative connotation . Later it was aimed at people who appeared to be overly picky because of this behavior, and finally “etepetete” carried over predominantly to shy and stiff to squeamish and princess-like behavior. The word is used particularly often in connection with children when they are shy about certain dishes and dishes and do not want to eat them at all. “Etepetete” is also used in the fashion world when someone is overly careful not to get their clothes dirty or wrinkled.

"And now even this snappy pinch that is forever adorned with her Turkish scarf and is even more common than the Reitweinsche Countess!"

- Theodor Fontane : Under the pear tree

literature

Ewald Harndt : French in Berlin jargon . 10th edition. Stapp, Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-87776-403-7 , p. 42.
Christa Pöppelmann: I think my pig whistles! The most famous idioms and what's behind them . Compact, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-8174-6604-7 , p. 93.
Eduard Koelwel : Guide to the correct German . Langenscheidt, Munich 1942, p. 21.
Jutta Limbach : Immigrated words . Hueber, Ismaning 2008, ISBN 978-3-19-207891-0 , p. 26 f.
Ida Smierzchalski: The development of a city language - Berlinerisch . GRIN, Ravensburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-656-08563-8 , p. 15.
Wolfgang Teuschl : Viennese dialect lexicon . Karl Schwarzer, Purkersdorf / Vienna, 1994, ISBN 3-900392-05-6 , p. 73.

Web links

Wiktionary: etepetete - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

^ Theodor Fontane: Under the pear tree. In: Theodor Fontane: Complete novels, stories, poems, bequests. Vol. I, WBG, Darmstadt 2002, p. 499.

[1] Theodor Fontane: Under the pear tree. In: Theodor Fontane: Complete novels, stories, poems, bequests. Vol. I, WBG, Darmstadt 2002, p. 499.