Etymology

Contracted from tëschent (like nieft from niewent). From Proto-Germanic *twiska- with irregular -wi- → -ü- as in Dutch tussen. Also cognate with German zwischen and eventually English betwixt. The onset t- in Luxembourgish (and surrounding varieties of West Central German) is remarkable and must be a relict form without the consonant shift. The northern Luxembourgish variant zwëschen may, but need not, show the regular development. (For if it had remained unshifted at first, this form would have been affected by a secondary development by which any dental plosive before -w- became z-, compare German zwingen for this. The form zwëschen[t] may also be from standard German, which is most likely.) The languages of the Rhenish Fan include several unshifted relict forms, most importantly dat, wat, et. Compare also Ripuarian Aap ‎(“ape”), söke ‎(“to seek”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /təʃt/
• Rhymes: -əʃt