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Author Topic: Sprechen Sie Deutsches?  (Read 2974 times)

Offline Indianna

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Sprechen Sie Deutsches?
« on: February 06, 2010, 16:09:36 »
Here is a question for our Deutsch sprechend* playmofriends:

What does the term "steck" really mean?  I have always wondered about this and a recent conversation between Giorginetto and Richard in the Direct Service/Part Numbers forum prompted me to ask this question.


*German speaking - anyway I hope that's what it means  :)
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Offline Richard

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Re: Sprechen Sie Deutsches?
« Reply #1 on: February 06, 2010, 17:56:38 »


Quote from: Indianna on February 06, 2010, 16:09:36

Here is a question for our Deutsch sprechend* playmofriends:

What does the term "steck" really mean?  I have always wondered about this and a recent conversation between Giorginetto and Richard in the Direct Service/Part Numbers forum prompted me to ask this question.


*German speaking - anyway I hope that's what it means  :)



Hmmm ...  :hmm:

So, Anne ... You want something better than my best "guess" ...  :P   :lol:


For all you native Deutsch speakers, this was my best guess ...

"The German word "steck" means to "put" or to "place" in English. The German word "steck" means "mettre" in French. So, it seems that the "Sieck System" simply means to put or to place pieces (of the same system) together."

And, I too, would really like to know what "steck" actually means in English.

Thank you,
Richard

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Offline Indianna

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Re: Sprechen Sie Deutsches?
« Reply #2 on: February 06, 2010, 18:19:34 »

Quote from: Richard on February 06, 2010, 17:56:38

Hmmm ...  :hmm:

So, Anne ... You want something better than my best "guess" ...  :P   :lol:

 :-[  No offense intended, my dear friend!   :)

It's just that your best guess and mine were the same (also babelfish's best "guess") and I wondered if there might be a more idiomatic meaning in German, perhaps having to do with construction.   ???
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Offline Richard

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Re: Sprechen Sie Deutsches?
« Reply #3 on: February 06, 2010, 18:34:58 »



Quote from: Indianna on February 06, 2010, 18:19:34

 :-[  No offense intended, my dear friend!   :)



No offense taken, Anne!

It actually gave me an opportinity to give you a bit of a "tweak"  ...  :lol:

And, dear lady, I've never been known to pass up any such opportunity ...  :klickygrin:

All the best my friend,
Richard



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Offline playmofire

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Re: Sprechen Sie Deutsches?
« Reply #4 on: February 06, 2010, 22:08:45 »
Checks on a dictionary site and on a translation site come up with the same answer that "steck" means "to stick".
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Offline Rasputin

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Re: Sprechen Sie Deutsches?
« Reply #5 on: February 06, 2010, 23:23:12 »
Hello

If it is referred to as "Click System" in the US what is it referred to as in all the other countries catalogs? In the US & German web sites it just has the picture but no words.

Rasputin "The Mad Monk"
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Offline macgayver

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Re: Sprechen Sie Deutsches?
« Reply #6 on: February 07, 2010, 09:14:25 »
Quote from: playmofire on February 06, 2010, 22:08:45
Checks on a dictionary site and on a translation site come up with the same answer that "steck" means "to stick".

The funny and hard thing about translating is sometimes there is no real translation and you need to interprete the word in the sentence

Steck comes from (in this case from steck System ) wich means a system where one part fits into the other to build a construction

Steck comes from the verb Stecken , wich means to stick together
when  I look up Steck in the German dictionary the word Steck doesn't even exist

If I read in English to stick , then the word adhessive comes to my mind

like in , to adhere , to glue , to paste

Hoping this answer is satisfying  ;)

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Offline playmofire

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Re: Sprechen Sie Deutsches?
« Reply #7 on: February 07, 2010, 09:36:13 »
Thank you, Michael.  Maybe a nearer English meaning would be to slot together as no adhesives are involved and the two pieces are joined by a tongue on one piece being pushed into a slot in the other piece.
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Offline AndrewL

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Re: Sprechen Sie Deutsches?
« Reply #8 on: February 07, 2010, 09:53:41 »
Hi All,

As macgyver points out, the word 'Steck' does not exist on its own in German. I have a vague recollection that at some point the term used in English-language catalogs for the building system was 'Plug and Click', and I think 'plug' is about the closest you can get as a one-to-one translation.

For example, a 'Stecker' is a plug, as in an electrical plug, and a 'Steckdose' is an electrical socket. In general, I think the verb 'stecken' covers the sense of 'inserting something into something else.' There are also a wide variety of German words where 'steck' is the root or base, but with a prefix attached, e.g., 'ausstecken,' which means to unplug something (like an electrical or computer cable).

There's plenty of similar sorts of examples in English of 'root' words that don't function on their own in modern usage. 'Forlorn' means sad and hopeless, but you don't use 'lorn' to mean happy and hopeful. Well, I don't, at least  ;)

Cheers,

AndrewL
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Offline Richard

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Re: Sprechen Sie Deutsches?
« Reply #9 on: February 07, 2010, 13:44:55 »


Thank you, Michael and Andrew!

It would appear that we non-German speakers were "close" with our definitions, but as they say "no cigar" ...  :klickygrin:

It also seems that "stecken" could be used for many things ... :klickygrin:

All the best,
Richard

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