König

From Middle High German künec, from Old High German kuning (rarer kunig), from Proto-Germanic *kuningaz.[1] The development Old High German -ning → later -nig is regular (see Pfennig). The modern vocalism -ö- is chiefly Central and Low German; compare Middle Low German köninc, from Old Saxon kuning. Cognate with Old Dutch kuning (whence Dutch koning), Old English cyning (whence English king), Old Norse konungr (whence e.g. Danish konge). The word was borrowed into non-Germanic languages in Proto-Germanic times: Finnish and Estonian kuningas, Russian князь (knjazʹ).

• IPA^(key): /ˈkøːnɪç/
• IPA^(key): /ˈkøːnɪk/ (southern Germany, Austria)

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König m (genitive Königs or Königes, plural Könige, female Königin)

1. king (monarch, chess, card games)

• Together with proper nouns, the genitive can be König[e]s with uninflected proper noun (e.g. Königs Wilhelm) or less common uninflected König with inflected proper noun as if the noun König were part of a name (e.g. König Wilhelms).

Note: The long genitive form Königes lost popularity by the mid-19th century and today only accounts for 0.3% of attestations.

Chess pieces in German · Schachfiguren, Schachsteine (layout · text)
König	Dame, Königin	Turm	Läufer	Springer, Pferd, Ross, Rössel	Bauer

• → Central Franconian: Künnisch

König m or f (genitive Königs)

1. A common surname​ originating as a nickname.

• König in Duden online