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abkommen

Pronunciation: /ˈapˌkɔmən/

“abkommen” is a German word. Its 13 meanings in English:

verb

  1. to come from, to derive from
  2. to unintentionally stray from (a chosen course)
  3. to digress from (a goal or subject)
  4. to abandon
  5. to get away, to move away (from a customary action, habit, behaviour, manner, routine, etc.)
  6. to start (a competition, event, etc) (in a particular way)
  7. to get away, to tear oneself away (from an activity)
  8. to turn from, to estrange oneself from (someone)
  9. to get clear of (something or someone), to get or be free of
  10. to go out of style (to become disused or obsolete)
  11. to grow thin and gaunt, to go to rack
  12. to (be filled with and) carry water
  13. to (unexpectedly) form or arise and draw near

Etymology

From Middle High German abekomen, from Old High German abaqueman, from ab- (“from”) + kweman (“to come”). The sense "grow gaunt" is attested since the 15th century as a shortening of the phrase "vom Fleisch abkommen". The specifically Namibian use is a loan meaning from Afrikaans afkom.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.