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schuechtern

German
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle Low German sch;chter, whence also Dutch schuchter. Cognate with scheu. The final -n is an original case ending, which was sometimes added to the stem in Low German (compare German albern).


Adjective
schuechtern (comparative schuechterner, superlative am schuechternsten)

shy, timid, bashful
Declension

The words scheu and sch;chtern both translate into English as “shy”. Although they are sometimes synonyms in German as well, there is generally a subtle distinction: scheu means “avoiding contact with others”, whereas schuechtern means “feeling uncomfortable or awkward in contact with others”. (Hence, one's being schuechtern may but need not lead to one's becoming scheu.)

Related terms
einschuechtern

German
Etymology
From ein- (“in”) +; schuechtern (“timid”) +; -en (a suffix of verbs in their infinitive form), a calque of Latin intimid; (in- (“in”) + timidus (“timid”) + -; (a suffix of verbs in their infinitive form)).


Verb
einschuechtern (weak, third-person singular present schuechtert ein, past tense schuechterte ein, past participle eingeschuechtert, auxiliary haben)

to intimidate


See also
scheu
 
Blick, Laecheln, Mensch
schuechtern, zurueckhaltend
shy
Er ist ein bisschen menschenscheu / publikumsscheu.
He’s a bit shy around people / reclusive.
 
Tier
Menschen nicht an sich herankommen lassend
timid
ein scheues Reh
a timid deer
die Pferde scheu machen = unnoetig fuer Aufregung sorgen S
jemanden aengstigen = to make horses shy
Antonym
zutraulich sein
 
scheu
 
adverb
 

shyly , timidly
scheu laecheln
to smile shyly
 
Scheu

genitive , singular Scheu
shyness
die Scheu vor fremden Menschen
shyness with strangers
Synonym
Schuechternheit
timidity
Die Katze lie; sich ohne Scheu streicheln.
The cat wasn’t timid about being stroked.
Synonym
Angst


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zaghaft
zurueckhaltend
Further reading
“schuechtern” in Duden online
“schuechtern” in Digitales Woerterbuch der deutschen Sprache
Friedrich Kluge (1883), “schuechtern”, in John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891


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nuechtern
Ant.
betrunken
blau sein

German
Etymology
From Middle High German n;ehtern, from Old High German nuohtarn, nuohturn, from Latin nocturnus (“nocturnal”). Compare Danish n;gtern, Hunsrik nichter, English nocturnal.


Adjective
nuechtern (comparative nuechterner, superlative am nuechternsten)

sober (“not drunk; serious, not playful or passionate”)
(medicine) with an empty stomach
Bitte kommen Sie nuechtern zur Untersuchung.
Please do not eat anything before the examination.
matter-of-fact, unemotional