Jeck

See also: jeck

German

Etymology

Nominalisation of the adjective jeck (“crazy”). The word is the same as Geck (“dandy”) and is a Central Franconian (Ripuarian) form of it. Cognate to Dutch gek (“crazy”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jɛk/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Jeck m (weak or mixed, genitive Jecken or (nonstandard but common) Jecks, plural Jecken)

1. (regional) carnival reveler (participant in a carnival event or party)

   Die Jecken ziehen wieder durch die Straßen.

   Carnival revelers are parading through the streets again.

2. (regional, colloquial, in the Rhineland) madman, fool

   Den Jeck kann doch keiner mehr ernstnehmen.

   That madman can't be taken seriously by anyone anymore.

Usage notes

Sense 1 is now commonly seen in standard usage even beyond the Rhineland. The more original sense 2 remains dialectal.

Declension

Declension of Jeck [masculine, weak // mixed]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Jeck	die	Jecken
genitive	eines	des	Jecken, Jecks1	der	Jecken
dative	einem	dem	Jecken, Jeck1	den	Jecken
accusative	einen	den	Jecken, Jeck1	die	Jecken

¹Nonstandard but common.

Synonyms

• Narr

Further reading

• “Jeck” in Duden online