Posted: Aug 12, 2011 3:53 pm
NineBerry wrote:My dictionary says it is related to the Swedisch verb "heda" which today has the same meaning.
Indeed, only it's "heta." "Wie heißen Sie/heißt du?" = "Vad heter du?" If I'm not mistaken, there is even an old English equivalent, "hight." Its correct grammatical use is archaic though, so I wouldn't know how to translate it from German or Swedish.
I was just a little thrown off by not having heard the word has ever meant "to order someone to do something" when I recognize the etymology of the word, being Swedish and studying German. Thanks for enlightening me though.
The adjective "heiß" (hot, high temperature) has the same spelling, but the words are not related in any way.
In Swedish we spell "hot" differently, so we won't have to embarrass ourselves saying "Ich bin sehr heiß."