A.Word.A.Day --gemutlich

A.Word.A.Day

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May 22, 2017

This week’s theme
Words borrowed from German

This week’s words
gemutlich
anschauung
gesellschaft
gesamtkunstwerk
krummholz

“Gemütlich ist Beisammensein”
(The comforts of being together)

Art: August von Rentzell (1810-1891)

A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

The first thing that comes to mind with thinking about words from German is extravagant polysyllabic constructions such as gotterdammerung (“These things are not words, they are alphabetical processions.” -Mark Twain). But German does have plenty of short (relatively speaking) words. This week we’ll feature some of them that have been borrowed into the English language.

gemutlich

PRONUNCIATION:

(guh-MOOT-lik, -MUT-likh)

MEANING:

adjective: Cozy; comfortable; pleasant; friendly.

ETYMOLOGY:

From German gemütlich (cozy, comfortable, etc.), from Gemüt (nature, mind, soul) + -lich (-ly). Earliest documented use: 1852. A related word is gemutlichkeit.

USAGE:

“Between the radio playing soft music and the coals burning in the fireplace, it was a gemutlich atmosphere on a chilly December day.”
Annelore Harrell; 75 Years After Pearl Harbor; Savannah Morning News (Georgia); Dec 7, 2016.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

I should dearly love that the world should be ever so little better for my presence. Even on this small stage we have our two sides, and something might be done by throwing all one's weight on the scale of breadth, tolerance, charity, temperance, peace, and kindliness to man and beast. We can't all strike very big blows, and even the little ones count for something. -Arthur Conan Doyle, physician and writer (22 May 1859-1930)

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