How is formed the adjective fettleibig (obese)? It may seem an evident derivate from fett (fat) and Leib

(body); however, the NP fetter Leib is as seldom as the adjective is frequent: this sounds paradoxical.

In this contribution, a new way of explaining the formation of this adjective is explored: fettleibig

appears as a subsistance of a in past times rich -leibig-paradigm. Therefore, in a synchronic view, this

adjective is not explained as a derivate, although it remains mainly transparent.