German Loan Words in the English Language

German Loan Words in the English Language English has borrowed many words from German. Some of those words have become a natural part of everyday English vocabulary (angst,  kindergarten,  sauerkraut), while others are primarily intellectual, literary, scientific (Waldsterben,  Weltanschauung,  Zeitgeist), or used in special areas, such as  gestalt  in psychology, or  aufeis  and  loess  in geology. Some of these German words are used in English because there is no true English equivalent: gemà ¼tlich,  schadenfreude. Words in the list below marked with * were used in various rounds of Scripps National Spelling Bees  in the U.S. Heres an A-to-Z sample of German loan words in English: German Words in English ENGLISH DEUTSCH MEANING alpenglow s Alpenglhen a reddish glow seen on the mountain tops around sunrise or sunset Alzheimers disease e Alzheimer Krankheit brain disease named for the German neurologist Alois Alzheimer (1864-1915), who first identified it in 1906 angst/Angst e Angst fear - in English, a neurotic feeling of anxiety and depression Anschluss r Anschluss annexation - specifically, the 1938 annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany (the Anschluss) apple strudel r Apfelstrudel a type of pastry made with thin layers of dough, rolled up with a fruit filling; from the German for swirl or whirlpool aspirin s Aspirin Aspirin (acetylsalicyclic acid) was invented by the German chemist Felix Hoffmann working for Bayer AG in 1899. aufeis s Aufeis Literally, on-ice or ice on top (Arctic geology). German citation: Venzke, J.-F. (1988): Beobachtungen zum Aufeis-Phnomen im subarktisch-ozeanischen Island. - Geokodynamik 9 (1/2), S. 207-220; Bensheim. autobahn e Autobahn freeway - The GermanAutobahn has almost mythical status. automat r Automat a (New York City) restaurant that dispenses food from coin-operated compartments Bildungsroman*pl. Bildungeromane r BildungsromanBildungsromane pl. formation novel - a novel that focuses on the maturation of, and the intellectual, psychological, or spiritual development of the main character blitz r Blitz lightning - a sudden, overwhelming attack; a charge in football; the Nazi attack on England in WWII (see below) blitzkrieg r Blitzkrieg lightning war - a rapid-strike war; Hitlers attack on England in WWII bratwurst e Bratwurst grilled or fried sausage made of spiced pork or veal cobalt s Kobalt cobalt, Co; see Chemical Elements coffee klatsch (klatch)Kaffeeklatsch r Kaffeeklatsch a friendly get-together over coffee and cake concertmasterconcertmeister r Konzertmeister the leader of the first violin section of an orchestra, who often also serves as assistant conductor Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseaseCJD e Creutzfeldt-Jakob-Krankheit mad cow disease or BSE is a variant of CJD, a brain disease named for the German neurologists Hans Gerhardt Creutzfeldt (1883-1964) and Alfons Maria Jakob (1884-1931) dachshund r Dachshund dachshund, a dog (der Hund) originally trained to hunt badger (der Dachs); the wiener dog nickname comes from its hot-dog shape (see wiener) degauss s Gau to demagnetize, neutralize a magnetic field; the gauss is a unit of measurement of magnetic induction (symbol G orGs, replaced by the Tesla), named for German mathematician and astronomerCarl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855). delidelicatessen s Delikatessen prepared cooked meats, relishes, cheeses, etc.; a shop selling such foods diesel r Dieselmotor The diesel engine is named for its German inventor, Rudolf Diesel(1858-1913). dirndl s Dirndls Dirndlkleid Dirndl is a southern German dialect word for girl. A dirndl (DIRN-del) is a traditional womans dress still worn in Bavaria and Austria. Doberman pinscherDobermann F.L. Dobermannr Pinscher dog breed named for the German Friedrich Louis Dobermann (1834-1894); the Pinscher breed has several variations, including the Dobermann, although technically the Dobermann is not a true pinscher doppelgngerdoppelganger r Doppelgnger double goer - a ghostly double, look-alike, or clone of a person Doppler effectDoppler radar C.J. Doppler(1803-1853) apparent change in the frequency of light or sound waves, caused by rapid movement; named for the Austrian physicist who discovered the effect dreckdrek r Dreck dirt, filth - in English, trash, rubbish (from Yiddish/German) edelweiss* s Edelwei a small flowering Alpine plant (Leontopodium alpinum), literally noble white ersatz* r Ersatz a replacement or substitute, usually implying inferiority to the original, such as ersatz coffee Fahrenheit D.G. Fahrenheit The Fahrenheit temperature scale is named for its German inventor, Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686-1736), who invented the alcohol thermometer in 1709. Fahrvergngen s Fahrvergngen driving pleasure - word made famous by a VW ad campaign fest s Fest celebration - as in film fest or beer fest flak/flack die Flakdas Flakfeuer anti-aircraft gun (FLiegerAbwehrKanone) - used in English more like das Flakfeuer(flak fire) for heavy criticism (Hes taking a lot of flak.) frankfurter Frankfurter Wurst hot dog, orig. a type of German sausage (Wurst) from Frankfurt; see wiener Fhrer r Fhrer leader, guide - a term that still has Hitler/Nazi connections in English, more than 70 years after it first came into use *Words used in various rounds of the Scripps National Spelling Bee held annually in Washington, D.C. Also see:  The Denglisch Dictionary  - English words used in German