selig

See also: Selig

German

Alternative forms

  • sälig (obsolete)
  • seelig (obsolete or misspelling)

Etymology

From Middle High German sælic, sælec, from Old High German sālīg,[1] from Proto-Germanic *sēlīgaz, derived from *sēliz. Cognates include English silly, Dutch zalig, Old Norse sæll.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈzeːlɪç/ (standard)
  • IPA(key): /ˈzeːlɪk/, /ˈseːlɪk/ (southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland)
  • Hyphenation: se‧lig

Adjective

selig (comparative seliger, superlative am seligsten)

  1. very or deeply happy; overjoyed
    Sie lächelte zurück, und er war selig.
    She smiled back, and he was overjoyed.
  2. expressing such happiness; beatific
    Sie betrachtete das Neugeborene mit seligen Blicken.
    She looked at the newborn with beatific glances.
  3. unworried; unanxious; tranquil
    Er ging ins Bett und fiel in einen seligen Schlaf.
    He went to bed and fell into a tranquil sleep.
  4. (chiefly Christianity) having been granted the eternal happiness of heaven
    Wer unbußfertig ist, kann nicht selig werden.
    They who are impenitent cannot go to heaven.
  5. (Roman Catholicism) blessed (having been beatified)
    die selige Jungfrau und Gottesmutter
    the blessed Virgin and Mother of God
  6. (following mention of a dead person) Short for Gott hab ihn selig or Gott hab sie selig.
    Meine Mutter selig hat immer gesagt...
    My mother – God rest her soul – used to say... ≈ My late mother used to say...

Declension

Synonyms

Derived terms

See also

References

  1. Kluge, Friedrich (1989), “selig”, in Elmar Seebold, editor, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache [Etymological dictionary of the German language] (in German), 22nd edition, →ISBN

Further reading

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