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wurgen

Wurgen, usually written würgen in modern German, is a verb meaning to choke or strangle, i.e., to constrict the airway and impair breathing. It can also be used in a broader, figurative sense to describe stifling or throttling something, such as a development or a process. The term denotes a violent act and is most commonly discussed in linguistic, legal, medical, or criminological contexts rather than everyday speech.

Etymologically, würgen derives from Old High German wurgen and is related to cognate forms in other West

In usage, würgen is a transitive verb that takes a direct object, typically a person or animal.

Notes: The unaccented form wurgen is commonly encountered as a misspelling or in nonstandard texts. Würgen

Germanic
languages,
such
as
Dutch
wurgen.
The
standard
spelling
in
contemporary
German
uses
the
umlaut,
würgen.
The
unmarked
spelling
wurgen
appears
in
older
texts,
dialectal
usage,
or
as
a
proper
noun,
and
is
generally
considered
nonstandard
for
the
verb
today.
It
also
appears
in
figurative
phrases
meaning
to
hinder
or
suppress
something,
for
example,
to
würgen
a
development
or
an
effort.
In
medical,
forensic,
and
legal
discussions,
würgen
is
used
to
describe
choking
as
a
form
of
asphyxia
and
may
appear
in
descriptions
of
assault
or
homicide,
without
providing
procedural
details.
can
also
appear
in
literature
and
media
to
depict
acts
of
strangulation,
contributing
to
its
presence
in
discussions
of
crime
and
violence.
In
addition,
wurgen
can
occur
as
a
surname
or
in
place
names
in
some
contexts.