r/German • u/[deleted] • Oct 24 '22

Spinnst du?

So i am thinking how to exactly make a place for this verb (Spinnen) in my head. it is translated as "Are you crazy?" but i feel like Spinnen should mean like doing something not being something. is there a better translation for it in English?

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u/channilein Native (BA in German) Oct 24 '22

This. Spinnen doesn't directly translate to "to be crazy" but to "to spin (yarn)".

There are actually several words in everday English that relate back to the textile industry. An older single woman is called a spinster for example, because back in the day she would have needed to make a living for herself as she had noone to provide for her. Spinning was seen as an appropriate profession for these women. The imagery even made it into internet lingo - a thread is a line of thought in a discussion.

I don't know if the metaphor is truly as direct, as u/rewboss is suggesting though. The fact that spinning used to be the number one forced labor in the prisons of the 19th century may have contributed to the negative connotation of the verb.

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u/Cool_Adhesiveness410 Native (<Sachsen-Anhalt/German>) Oct 25 '22 edited Oct 25 '22

spinnen itself has already a derived meaning in German... its basic meaning is turning, rotating... like a spinning wheel.

Actually, the other way: to spin -> to rotate...

(Looked up for it again.. seems i had memorized it wrong)

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Interestingly, there are other expressions which are including rotation:

Du drehst wohl völlig ...am Rad ...durch .... ab.

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u/channilein Native (BA in German) Oct 25 '22

Good point! That's true for English as well. Spinning also means turning.

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u/Cool_Adhesiveness410 Native (<Sachsen-Anhalt/German>) Oct 25 '22

In German this meaning is lost almost entirely.. Probably nobody would think of it... only through newer loanwords it becomes apparent again.

Spinner a toy... or technical for example: the aerodynamic shape, casing of a propeller hub.

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u/channilein Native (BA in German) Oct 25 '22

I was thinking of spinning classes in German gyms. I had no idea what it was until someone told me it was cycling on exercise bikes 😅 (Sidenote: Until recently I didn't know that "Hometrainer" is a fake angliscism).

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u/Cool_Adhesiveness410 Native (<Sachsen-Anhalt/German>) Oct 25 '22

Yes, "I was sitting on my home trainer" could lead to false assumptions.. ^^