Krake

See also: krake, krakë, and kråke

German

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Norwegian Kraken, definite singular of krake (“sea monster”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈkʁaːkə/
  • Audio:(file)

Noun

Krake (traditional or scientific) m (weak, genitive Kraken, plural Kraken) or
Krake (colloquial) f (genitive Krake, plural Kraken)

  1. (chiefly sciences) a mollusk of the order Octopoda; an octopus in the broader sense
  2. (mythology or figuratively) a kraken (sea monster)
    Das Schiff wurde von einer Krake (einem Kraken) versenkt.
    The ship was sunk by a kraken.
    die/der Krake des Kapitalismus ― the kraken of capitalism

Usage notes

  • Krake, Oktopus and Tintenfisch are all distinguished in scientific use. Non-specialist speakers, however, tend to reserve Krake to the sea monster and use Tintenfisch and Oktopus interchangeably.
  • Prescriptive grammars define Krake as masculine, which is the traditional usage and is still common in some regions. On the whole, however, Krake is now predominantly treated as feminine outside of scientific use.

Declension

Declension of Krake [masculine (traditional or scientific), weak]
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein der Krake die Kraken
genitive eines des Kraken der Kraken
dative einem dem Kraken den Kraken
accusative einen den Kraken die Kraken
Declension of Krake [feminine (colloquial)]
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative eine die Krake die Kraken
genitive einer der Krake der Kraken
dative einer der Krake den Kraken
accusative eine die Krake die Kraken

Derived terms

  • Löcherkrake (“common blanket octopus”)
  • Riesenkrake (“giant octopus”)
  • Zirrenkrake (“curled octopus”)

See also

Further reading

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