German–English dictionary

Lebewohl

A wish of happiness or safety at parting, especially a permanent departure.

Lebewohl sagen

To bid farewell or say goodbye.

lebhaft

light-hearted; vivacious

Lebkuchen

(transitive, idiomatic, uncommon) To decorate or embellish in an ornate or intricate way.

leblos

(hyperbole) Figuratively, not alive; lacking life.

Lebzelten

(transitive, idiomatic, uncommon) To decorate or embellish in an ornate or intricate way.

lechzen

(US, slang) Have an intense craving.

Leck

A crack, crevice, fissure, or hole which admits water or other fluid, or lets it escape.

lecken

(intransitive) To leak slowly.

lecker

(colloquial, figurative) Pleasing to a person's taste; pleasing to the eyes or mind.

Leckerbissen

Something appealing, usually a pleasing food, especially a choice dish of a certain culture suggesting rarity and refinement.

Leckerchen

A snack food item designed to be given to pets.

Leckerei

Something that is delectable.

leckerfritzig

(colloquial, lighthearted, often, childish) Delicious.

LED

Initialism of light-emitting diode.

Leder

(countable) The skin of an animal.

Leder-

Made of leather.

Lederhaut

(anatomy) The tissue of the skin underlying the epidermis.

ledern

Made of leather.

Lederriemen

(usually, in the plural, Australia) An item of footwear, usually of rubber, secured by two straps which join to pass between the big toe and its neighbour.

Lederzeug

Any of the various equipment and accessories worn by horses in the course of their use as domesticated animals.

ledig

Not married, and (in modern times) not dating or without a significant other.

lediglich

(focus) Without any other reason etc.; only, just, and nothing more. [from 16th c.]

Lee

(nautical) The side of the ship away from the wind.

leechen

(transitive, figuratively) To drain (resources) without giving back.

leer

(not comparable, of a machine, device, or electrical circuit) Completely inactive; currently without power; without a signal; not live.

leer machen

(transitive, ergative) To make empty; to remove the contents of.

Leere

A void; an emptiness.

leere Phrasen

(colloquial) (Often lengthy) speech or writing that is evasive or vague, or pretentious.

leeren

(archaic, transitive) To drink to the bottom.

Leerlaufstellung

(uncountable) The position of a set of gears in which power cannot be transmitted to the drive mechanism.

leerpumpen

To set free; to deliver; to release.

Leerschritt

(metal type) A piece of metal type used to separate words, cast lower than other type so as not to take ink, especially one that is narrower than one en (compare quad). [from 17thc.]

leerstehend

(of a house etc) Not inhabited, especially by a tenant

Leerstelle

The space character; the character resulting from pressing the space bar on a keyboard.

Leerung

The act of clearing or something (such as a space) cleared.

Leerverkauf

(commerce, finance) The practice of selling items or stock which one does not currently possess.

Leerzeichen

The space character; the character resulting from pressing the space bar on a keyboard.

leewärts

Away from the direction from which the wind is blowing; downwind.

leewärts gelegen

On the side sheltered from the wind; in that direction.

Lefze

(countable) Either of the two fleshy protrusions around the opening of the mouth.

legal

(legal) Conforming to, or recognised by the laws of society.

legalisieren

To make legal or permit under law. Either by decriminalising something that has been illegal or by specifically permitting it.

Legalität

Lawfulness.

legasthen

Having dyslexia.

Legasthenie

(neurology, pathology) A learning disability characterized by reading and writing difficulties.

Legastheniker

A person who has dyslexia.

legasthenisch

Having dyslexia.

Legat

A deputy representing the pope, specifically a papal ambassador sent on special ecclesiastical missions.

Legebatterie

A set of small cages where hens are kept for the purpose of farming their eggs.

Legehenne

A female chicken (Gallus gallus), particularly a sexually mature one kept for her eggs.

legen

To lessen (something) in force or intensity; to moderate. [from 14th c.]

legendär

Of or pertaining to a legend or to legends.

Legende

A title or brief explanation attached to an illustration, cartoon, user interface element, etc.

leger

(of behavior, usage, or milieu) Informal; relaxed.

legieren

To mix or combine; often used of metals.

Legierung

A metal that is a combination of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal, a base metal.

Legion

Numerous; vast; very great in number.

Legionär

A member of a legion, such as the American Legion, or of any organization containing the term legion in its title (e.g. the French Foreign Legion).

Legislative

A governmental body with the power to make, amend and repeal laws.

legitim

In accordance with the law or established legal forms and requirements.

Legitimation

(politics) The order or authority to do something, as granted to a politician by the electorate.

legitimieren

(transitive) To make legitimate.

Legitimität

The quality or state of being legitimate or valid; validity.

Lego

Any of several small, coloured, plastic bricks, often made by the Lego Company, that can be made to join together and be taken apart, used to construct toy buildings, vehicles, etc.

Legostein

Any of several small, coloured, plastic bricks, often made by the Lego Company, that can be made to join together and be taken apart, used to construct toy buildings, vehicles, etc.

legte an

Having received financial support; paid for.

Leguan

A green iguana (Iguana iguana), a large tropical American lizard often kept as a pet.

Leguminose

(botany) Any of a large family (Fabaceae, syn. Leguminosae) of dicotyledonous herbs, shrubs, and trees having fruits that are legumes or loments, bearing nodules on the roots that contain nitrogen-fixing bacteria, and including important food and forage plants (as peas, beans, or clovers).

Lehen

An estate granted to a vassal by a feudal lord in exchange for service.

Lehm

A mineral substance made up of small crystals of silica and alumina, that is ductile when moist; the material of pre-fired ceramics.

Lehmbewurf

A soft coating of mud, plaster, etc.

Lehmputz

(uncountable) A mixture of lime or gypsum, sand, and water, sometimes with the addition of fibres, that hardens to a smooth solid and is used for coating walls and ceilings; render, stucco.

Lehmverstrich

A soft coating of mud, plaster, etc.

Lehne

(countable) Any object designed to be used to support something else.

lehnen

To press against.

Lehnseid

Fidelity to one's lord or master; the feudal obligation by which the tenant or vassal was bound to be faithful to his lord.

Lehnsessel

A chair with supports for the arms or elbows.

Lehnsherr

A free and independent person; specifically, a lord paramount; a sovereign.

Lehnsmann

(historical) A rank of nobility in pre-Norman England, roughly equivalent to baron.

Lehnstuhl

A chair with supports for the arms or elbows.

Lehnwort

A word directly taken into one language from another one.

Lehrbuch

(education) A coursebook, a formal manual of instruction in a specific subject, especially one for use in schools or colleges.

lehrbuchmäßig

(figuratively) Having the typical characteristics of some class of phenomenon, so that it might be included as an example in a textbook.

Lehre

The condition of, or the time served by, an apprentice.

lehren

(ditransitive) To cause (someone) to learn or understand (something).

Lehrende

One who instructs; a teacher.

Lehrer

One who instructs; a teacher.

Lehrerberuf

The profession of educating people; the activity that a teacher does when he/she teaches.

Lehrerin

One who instructs; a teacher.

Lehrfabel

A short story with a moral, often involving talking animals or objects; a fable.

Lehrfach

A particular area of study.

Lehrgang

(education) A learning programme

Lehrgebäude

An abstract structure, such as a school of thought, an argument, a theoretical position, etc.

Lehrling

A trainee, especially in a skilled trade.

Lehrpersonal

(chiefly, North American, Philippines) The academic staff at schools, colleges, universities or not-for-profit research institutes, as opposed to the students or support staff.

Lehrplan

(US) The set of courses, coursework, and content offered at a school or university.

lehrreich

Instructive, or helping to educate.

Lehrstelle

The system by which a person learning a craft or trade is instructed by a master for a set time under set conditions.

Lehrstunde

A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided.

Lehrtätigkeit

The profession of educating people; the activity that a teacher does when he/she teaches.

Lehrtochter

(historical) One who is bound by indentures or by legal agreement to serve a tradesperson, or other person, for a certain time, with a view to learn the art, or trade, in which his master is bound to instruct him.

Lehrzeit

The condition of, or the time served by, an apprentice.

Lehrzielvorgabe

(US) The set of courses, coursework, and content offered at a school or university.

Leib

The human body as a physical entity.

Leibbinde

(historical) Part of a woman's dress; a stomacher.

Leibchen

(sports) A colourful polyester or plastic vest worn over one's clothes, usually to mark one's team during group activities.

Leibdiener

(professional wrestling) A female performer in professional wrestling, acting as either a manager or personal chaperone; often used to attract and titillate male members of the audience.

Leibeigene

(historical) A serf or bondsman born into servitude.

Leibeigener

A partially free peasant of a low hereditary class, attached like a slave to the land owned by a feudal lord and required to perform labour, enjoying minimal legal or customary rights.

Leibeigenschaft

(uncountable) The state of being under the control of another person.

Leibgedinge

(legal) The part of or interest in a deceased husband's property provided to his widow, usually in the form of a life estate.

Leibhaftige

(archaic, often capitalized, usually with definite article) The Devil.

leiblich

Related by consanguinity, especially as to parents and children.

Leiblichkeit

(uncountable) The quality or fact of having a physical or material body.

Leibschmerzen

A pain in the abdomen, often caused by indigestion, in which the pain is usually lower than the stomach and related to the intestines.

Leibwächter

A person or group of persons, often armed, responsible for protecting someone.

Leibzucht

(legal) The part of or interest in a deceased husband's property provided to his widow, usually in the form of a life estate.

Leiche

The dead body of any animal with flesh; the dead body of a vertebrate; a carcass.

Leichenbestatter

A funeral director; someone whose business is to manage funerals, burials and cremations.

Leichenbestatterin

A funeral director; someone whose business is to manage funerals, burials and cremations.

Leichenhalle

A building or room where dead bodies are kept before their proper burial or cremation, (now) particularly in legal and law enforcement contexts.

Leichenhaus

A building or room where dead bodies are kept before their proper burial or cremation, (now) particularly in legal and law enforcement contexts.

Leichenhof

A tract of land in which the dead are buried.

Leichenöffnung

A dissection performed on a cadaver to find possible cause(s) of death.

Leichenschauhaus

A building or room where dead bodies are kept before their proper burial or cremation, (now) particularly in legal and law enforcement contexts.

Leichenschmaus

A period after a person's death before or after the body is buried, cremated, etc.; in some cultures accompanied by a party or collectively sorting through the deceased's personal effects.

Leichenstein

A grave marker, a stone slab or similar object marking a person's grave.

Leichentuch

Especially, the dress for the dead; a winding sheet.

Leichenverbrennung

A burning; especially the act or practice of cremating the dead, burning a corpse.

Leichenwagen

A carriage or vehicle specially adapted or used for transporting a dead person to the place of funeral or to the grave.

Leichnam

The dead body of any animal with flesh; the dead body of a vertebrate; a carcass.

leicht

Light, or softly tinted; said of a colour.

leicht galoppieren

To travel an easy pace with long strides.

leicht hungrig

(colloquial, British) mildly hungry

leicht reizbar

Childishly irritable.

leichtentzündlich

Easily set on fire.

Leichter

A flat-bottomed boat for carrying heavy loads across short distances (especially for canals or for loading or unloading larger boats).

leichter Galopp

A gait of a horse between a trot and a gallop, consisting of three beats and a "suspension" phase, where there are no feet on the ground. Also describing this gait on other four-legged animals.

leichtes Mädchen

A prostitute who attracts customers by walking the streets.

leichtfertig

Not giving sufficient attention or thought, especially concerning the avoidance of harm or mistakes. [from 16thc.]

leichtfertig umgehen

(intransitive) To deal with something as if it were of little importance or worth.

leichtfertiges Benehmen

The act of one who trifles; frivolous behaviour.

Leichtfertigkeit

state of being frivolous

leichtfüssig

Quick and light in movement or action.

Leichtgewicht

One of little consequence or ability.

leichtgewichtig

Having less than average weight.

Leichtgewichtler

One of little consequence or ability.

leichtgläubig

Excessively ready to believe things; gullible.

Leichtigkeit

Lack of difficulty; the ability to do something easily.