abhanden

German

Etymology

Middle High German. By surface analysis, ab +‎ Handen (now Händen).

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /apˈhandn̩/
  • Audio(file)

Adverb

abhanden

  1. gone, lost
    • 1901, “Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen [I am lost to the world]”, Friedrich Rückert (lyrics), Gustav Mahler (music):
      Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen, / Mit der ich sonst viele Zeit verdorben, / Sie hat so lange nichts von mir vernommen, / Sie mag wohl glauben, ich sei gestorben!
      I am lost to the world / with which I used to waste so much time; / it has heard nothing from me for so long, / it may well believe that I am dead!

Usage notes

Nowadays, abhanden is only used with the verb kommen.

Derived terms

Further reading
  • “abhanden” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
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