decken

Etymology

From Old High German decchen, from Proto-Germanic *þakjaną. Equivalent to Dach +‎ -en. Cognate with West Frisian dekke, Dutch dekken, English thatch, Danish tække, Swedish täcka.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɛkən/, [-kən], [-kŋ̩]

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

decken (weak, third-person singular present deckt, past tense deckte, past participle gedeckt, auxiliary haben)

1. to cover (a roof, with a blanket, etc.)

   Tischlein deck dich ― Wishing-Table (literally, “Little table, cover yourself”)

2. (figuratively) to cover (e.g. a demand, a loss; but not “to provide news coverage”)
   • 2010, Der Spiegel‎, number 25/2010, page 129:

     Zudem schrumpfen in Deutschland die Jahrgänge. Das Angebot an Arbeitnehmern, auch im Top-Bereich, wird bald nicht mehr reichen, um den Bedarf zu decken.

     In addition the age groups are shrinking in Germany. The supply of workers, also in the top region, will soon be no longer sufficient to cover the demand.

   • 2021 March 10, Jack McGovan, “Autoreifen aus Löwenzahn - eine ökologische Alternative?”, in Deutsche Welle‎ (article), retrieved 1 July 2022:

     Mit dieser Pflanze, Taraxacum koksaghyz, deckte die damalige Sowjetunion bis 1941 ein Drittel ihres Gummibedarfs.

     2021 March 10, Jack McGovan, Could rubber from dandelions make tires more sustainable?, in Deutsche Welle (article), retrieved 1 July 2022:
     By 1941, the Russian dandelion, Taraxacum koksaghyz, supplied 30% of the USSR's rubber.

3. (figuratively) to cover (a female animal)
4. to lay or set (the table)
5. (soccer) to mark
6. (reflexive) to be congruent, to coincide
7. (chess) to protect, to guard

Further reading

• “decken” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “decken” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “decken” in Duden online
• “decken” in OpenThesaurus.de

Etymology

From Middle High German decken, from Old High German thecken, from Proto-West Germanic *þakkjan. Cognate with German decken, Dutch dekken, English thatch, Icelandic þekja.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdæken/, [ˈdækən]

Verb

decken (third-person singular present deckt, past participle gedeckt, auxiliary verb hunn)

1. (transitive) to cover

Etymology

From Old Dutch thecken, from Proto-West Germanic *þakkjan, from Proto-Germanic *þakjaną.

Verb

decken

1. to roof, to build/repair a roof
2. to cover
3. to protect by covering
4. to erase, to make invisible
5. to hide
6. to keep secret

Further reading

• “decken (II)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “decken”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN