German Words

The English vernacular has borrowed from many other languages over the years.  German is one of many.  

In fact, English is a Germanic language.  In the Middle Ages, Great Britain was overrun by those of other nations, such as the Vikings from Scandinavia, the French from Normandy, and the Saxons from what is now part of northern Germany.  The term “Anglo-Saxon” definitively identifies the English as partly German.  It is not a surprise, then, that so many English words are actually German in origin.

While German is not easily understood to those who speak English as our native tongue, there are many German words that we can understand.  If someone says, “Kommen sie hier ” We would probably get it that the person wants us to “come here”.  If we are told to “Trink Wasser”, especially if the speaker is holding out a bottle of water to us, we would readily understand.

There were many German immigrants to Pennsylvania in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, who were invited by William Penn.  Penn understood the need to welcome anyone persecuted by their governments, as he was, so that they would have a place of escape.  The Palatines, a religious group from Germany and Switzerland, quickly accepted Sir William’s invitation.  Today, they are known as the Pennsylvania Dutch.  They aren’t Dutch, however, but German.  The name Germany in the German language is Deutschland , and those who are German are Deutsch.  We have just been mispronouncing their native moniker for a few centuries.

We would be surprised to learn how many of the words we speak regularly are of German origin.  Here are a few:

Circa.  The word we use, as in “The true end of the Civil War, even after Appomattox, happened circa the summer of 1865.”  Circa means “about ” for us, and it’s precisely what the word means in German.  Circa is German for about, or approximately.

Kaput.   When something is kaput, it is finished, as in broken or of no use anymore.  It is the German word for broken.

Angst.  The German word for anxiety has become a well-used word in America too.  We use it to describe long-term animosity that came out of distrust.  The Germans see it that way too.

Market.  Just as we shop at the market, that’s where the Germans shop, and that is the same name used over in German-speaking Europe.  They even say Supermarket – they just omit the “e”.

Kindergarten.   Kinder means “children” in the German language, so a “garden for children” is what originated from Philadelphia in the 19th century – helped along, incidentally, by Thomas Kane, a Philadelphia native who also fought at the Battle of Gettysburg. 

Rucksack.  A backpack is smaller than a rucksack, but the name is still used in Great Britain and the term was common among Civil War soldiers.  The name was born in Germany; in fact, most “sacks ” are of German origin.

Smut.   The German word for “ilth ” or “grime ” (the word is actually schmut ) has become an American term for filthiness, but usually of the provocative kind.

Fest.  Our shortened version of “estival ” is the German word of the same.  Oktoberfest is probably the most famous German party, known globally, that takes place annually from mid-September until early October.  It originated in, and continues to be celebrated around Munich, which was the capital of Bavaria before Germany became united as a nation.  In the early 19th century, a king’s wedding became a several days’ long reception.  The king and his bride, incidentally, did not stay for the entire celebration.

Spiel.  The term in English means “a long speech” or perhaps an explanation or presentation that takes a bit of time.  In German, a spiel is a game.  The meaning may have changed, but we got spiel from the Germans.

Uber.  The German word for “above” or “over” has become an English word that means “ultra”.  It has become a trademark as well for a certain ride-sharing company.  The word nevertheless is German in origin.

Flak.  The word we use to describe annoying verbal opposition was first described during World War II for the Germans’ anti-aircraft heavy artillery.  The word was far too long in German: Fliegerabwehrkanone (the German language often strings words together, so many of them are very, very long).  The Allied airmen shortened the term to flak.  We can be grateful that it was shortened!

Wanderlust.  The German word means “wanting to wander or hike”.  It has come to mean the same thing in America.

Foosball.  The show Friends made the Foosball table a famous, world-wide accessory.  While Foosball tables aren’t as common these days, Foosball means soccer in German.  And the Foosball tables have, not surprisingly, soccer players attached.

Gesundheit.   When someone sneezes, we usually say either “Bless you” or Gesundheit”.   The latter is a German word that means “Healthiness”.  Most of the European languages (French, Spanish, Portuguese, or Italian at least) reply in a similar manner, where the word “health” is invoked.

Sour.   The Germans invented the adjective sour – and we see it all over Pennsylvania with the Pennsylvania Deutsch cuisine:  sauerkraut , sauerbraten , etc.  We may spell it differently, but we pronounce it in the same manner.  And we get that word from Germany.  We actually get quite a few foods from our German forebears too: pretzel, seltzer, noodle, bratwurst, wiener (yes, that is the correct spelling, at least if we are following its original German spelling, and the “i before e except after c ” rule) and of course, the hamburger – named for the German city Hamburg.  Along the same food vein, a rather humorous historic faux pas was made in the early 1960s by President John F. Kennedy.  It occurred in Berlin when he addressed the public by the Brandenburg Gate.  He told them in German, “Ich bin ein Berliner”, which when translated, he had meant to say he was one of them, a man from Berlin.  A Berliner, though, is a jelly doughnut – a famous treat from that area.  So, he said instead that he was a jelly doughnut.  He should have been told to say “ Ich bin Berliner ” instead, and omitted the “ein”.

In another interesting aside, the Delicatessen is also a German word.  The German word for food is Essen.

Fahrenheit.  The name given to our measurement in degrees of both heat and cold comes from the German physicist, Daniel Fahrenheit (1686-1736).  He lived in Poland, but descended from a German family, and was famous for his many years of studying temperature.  The mercury-in-glass thermometer, which is still used today, was one of his inventions.  The name in German means “the quality of being driven .

Doppelganger.  The noun that we have come to know as someone’s exact twin or lookalike comes from the German word that is defined as “double walker”.  It often refers to a ghost or a shadow in German.  We have come to make it our own, with our own definition.

Who would have thought we share so many words with our German counterparts across the pond? 

I won’t say “Pass the word” in German – It is long and complicated and doesn’t sound remotely like English. 

You’re welcome.