Achsel

German

Etymology

From Old High German ahsala, ahsla, from Proto-Germanic *ahslō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱs- (“axis”). Cognate with Old Norse ǫxl (“shoulder”) and ǫxull (“axle”) (whence Danish aksel, Icelandic öxl), English axle. Also cognate with Latin axilla (“shoulder joint”), Sanskrit अक्ष (ákṣa, “axle”).

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈaksəl/
  • Audio(file)

Noun

Achsel f (genitive Achsel, plural Achseln, diminutive Ächselchen n or Achselchen n)

  1. armpit, axilla (cavity under the shoulder)
    Er rasiert sich die Achseln.
    He shaves his armpits.
    Er hat Haarstoppeln in den Achseln.
    He has stubbles of hair in his armpits.
  2. shoulder; shoulder joint (see usage notes below)
    Er zuckte mit den Achseln.
    He shrugged his shoulders.
    Er hat Haarstoppeln unter den Achseln.
    He has stubbles of hair under his arms.

Usage notes
  • The diminutive forms are both very rare and hardly attestable.
  • The normal term for “shoulder” is Schulter. The word Achsel is overall less common in this sense; it usually specifies the outer parts of the shoulders, i.e. what is around the shoulder joint.

Declension
Declension of Achsel
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative eine die Achsel die Achseln
genitive einer der Achsel der Achseln
dative einer der Achsel den Achseln
accusative eine die Achsel die Achseln

Synonyms

Further reading
  • Achsel in Duden online
  • Achsel in Kluge's Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, 1891
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