geil

Etymology

From Old Norse geil, from Proto-Germanic *gailō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaiːl/

Noun

geil f (genitive singular geilar, plural geilar)

1. fenced lane along which animals (cattle) can be driven through the field out onto the pasture^[1]
2. (plural, in expressions) street
   • tað hoyrist út á geilar

     it is heard out in the street (of noise in a house)

3. (sheep) hollow on the inside of a ram's horn
4. (nautical) small passage (e.g. between two skerries)
5. (sports) lane

References

Etymology

From Middle High German geil, from Old High German geil, from Proto-West Germanic *gail ("wanton, lustful"), from Proto-Germanic *gailaz ("frothing, arrogant, tempestuous, violent, wanton").

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡaɪ̯l/
• Rhymes: -aɪ̯l

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

geil (strong nominative masculine singular geiler, comparative geiler, superlative am geilsten)

1. (mildly vulgar) salacious; lustful; horny
   • 1906, Felix Salten, Josefine Mutzenbacher‎:

     Aber er küßte nur mit den Lippen. Mit der Zunge tat er gar nichts. Und diese heißen Küsse machten mich noch viel geiler, als wenn er mich geschleckt hätte.

     But he kissed me just with the lips. He did not do anything with his tongue. And these hot kisses made me still much more randy, than if he had licked me.

2. (colloquial, mildly vulgar) keen; bent [with auf ‘on something’]
   • 2015, Steffen Kirchner, Totmotiviert?, GABAL Verlag GmbH, →ISBN, page 85:

     Salopp formuliert könnte man sagen: Unser Gehirn ist geil auf Geld.

     Casually said: Our brain is keen on money.

3. (colloquial, mildly vulgar) great; cool; awesome

   Antonym: ungeil

   • 2011, “Poesie Album”, in SchwarzWeiss, performed by Samy Deluxe:

     Lass sie alle reden, lass die Halle beben / Was für'n geiles Leben, ich mache Scheine, scheine / Indem ich Reime reime so wie Heinrich Heine

     Let them all talk, let the hall quake / What an awesome life, I make money / with rhyming like Heinrich Heine

   • 2019, “Hey Dealer”, in Die Sterne, performed by Die Sterne:

     Hey Dealer / das ist ganz schön geil / fühlt sich an wie Sonnenschein / alles ganz schön real

     Hey dealer / this is pretty awesome / feels like sun shine / all pretty real

4. (colloquial, vulgar, of people) sexy; hot
   • 2014, Paula Lambert, Keine Angst, der will nur spielen: Der Männer-Report‎, Piper ebooks, →ISBN:

     Dann lässt sie sich von Markus den Hintern tätscheln und »geile Maus« nennen.

     Then she let Marcus fondle her butt and let him call her hot chick.

5. (archaic, of plants) rank, luxuriant (growing abundantly)
   • 1787, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Die Leiden des jungen Werther [The Sorrows of Young Werther]‎, volume 1:

     Sag' du: ‘das ist zu hart! Sie schränkt nur ein, beschneidet die geilen Reben’ etc.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 1924, Thomas Mann, Der Zauberberg [The Magic Mountain], volume 2, Berlin: S. Fischer, page 467:

     Dem Walde ging es nicht gut, er krankte an dieser geilen Flechte, sie drohte ihn zu ersticken, das war die allgemeine Meinung, während der kleine Zug auf dem Nadelwege vorwärts schritt, […]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Further reading

• “geil” in Duden online
• “geil” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “geil” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.

Anagrams

• Igel

Etymology

From Old Norse geil, from Proto-Germanic *gailō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ceiːl/
• Rhymes: -eiːl

Noun

geil f (genitive singular geilar, nominative plural geilir or geilar)

1. narrow passage, narrow lane

Alternative forms

• geile

Etymology

From Old Norse geil f, from Proto-Germanic *gailō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jɛɪːl/

Noun

geil f or m (definite singular geilen or geila, indefinite plural geilar or geiler, definite plural geilane or geilene)

1. narrow passage, especially between houses
2. a trail for cattle
3. a deep cliff

References

• “geil” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *gailō.

Noun

geil f (genitive geilar, plural geilar)

1. narrow glen, lane

Further reading

• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “geil”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive