Wendehals

German

Etymology

wenden (“turn around”) +‎ Hals (“neck”)

Pronunciation
  • Audio(file)

Noun

Wendehals m (strong, genitive Wendehalses, plural Wendehälse)

  1. The Eurasian wryneck (Jynx torquilla).
  2. An opportunist, a person with no principles.
  3. (politics) A political opportunist after a regime change, particularly a communist in East Germany who switched to supporting capitalism after German reunification.

Declension

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Derived terms
  • Rotkehl-Wendehals (“red-throated wryneck”)

Descendants
  • Russian: вертише́йка (vertišéjka) (calque)

Further reading
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