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[Surname] Re: Meaning of Zinkl?
At the moment this surname exists in Germany. in the past it existed also in Germany and in Bohemia (Chech Republic).
In Germany it seems to be a rather regional surname, less than 1000 persons.
It doesn't appear in any dictionary.
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Grimm's Woerterbuch contains 4 meanings for 'Zinkel':
1. young, flexible tree-branch ('Zinken' means branch)
2. cowbell
3. 'Emporbuehne', no idea what that is
4. a type of leather bag
http://www.dwb.uni-trier.de/index.html
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emporbuehneEmpor is a gallery
Buehne (usually spelled with umlauts instead of an e) refers to a theatrical stage
So my guess is Emporbuehne would mean a gallery stage.
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I guess Buehne is here used in the sense of 'Geruest, Gebaelk', because it specifically means a wooden gallery inside a church with additional seating area for the congregation ('Empore').
Not a likely source for a surname but I suppose nothing is impossible...
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But I wonder if Zinkl is not a bohemian surname of Slavic origin.
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