German

Noun

Knabe m ‎(genitive Knaben, plural Knaben, diminutive Knäblein n or Knäbelein n)

1. (dated, now literary, humorous or southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland) boy

Usage notes

• Knabe used to be the most common term for “boy” until about 1930. As the word was restricted to written style and had no basis in any regional dialects, it has since been replaced with more native Junge (throughout the language area) or Bube (alternatively in southern Germany and Austria).

Declension

Derived terms

• Prügelknabe