anstecken

Anstecken is a German verb with several related meanings that share the core idea of bringing something into contact with something else. The most common senses are infectious and ceremonial/physical. In the infectious sense, it means to transfer a pathogen from one person to another or to catch a disease oneself. The reflexive form, sich anstecken, is used for becoming infected, while jdn/etwas anstecken means to infect someone or to transfer a condition to someone else. Examples are: Ich habe mich mit einer Erkältung angesteckt, und Er hat mich angesteckt. In medical or epidemiological language the noun Ansteckung is used for the act or process of infection.

A second sense concerns attaching or pinning something to clothing or another surface. Here anstecken is used with a separable prefix, as in Ich steckte den Anstecker an meinen Mantel, or Ich habe den Button an die Tasche angesteckt. The past participle angesteckt is used in finite constructions with haben.

A further usage is to light a cigarette or similar item, mainly in colloquial speech. In this sense, jemanden oder sich etwas anstecken means to ignite, as in Ich stecke mir eine Zigarette an.

Figuratively, anstecken can describe the spread of moods, ideas, or behaviors. The expression Die gute Laune steckt an means that good spirits are contagious and influence others.

Etymology traces to stecken with the prefix an-, producing several related senses. The verb is separable in many uses and forms angesteckt in participle constructions. Related terms include ansteckend (contagious), Anstecker (badge), and Ansteckung (infection).