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Mar 2, 2011
This week's theme
Words borrowed from German

This week's words
sitzfleisch
ersatz
lebensraum
diktat
schwarmerei

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

lebensraum

PRONUNCIATION:
(LAY-behns-roum)

MEANING:
noun: Space required for living, growth, and development.

ETYMOLOGY:
From German Lebensraum (living space), from Leben (life) + Raum (space). Earliest documented use: 1905.

NOTES:
The word became well-known after its association with Hitler and his policy of expansion into eastern Europe. He claimed that additional living space was needed for Germany's continued existence and economic development.

USAGE:
"As for Turkey, after 1974, she created a Lebensraum in the north for the Turkish Cypriots and her settlers."
Murat Metin Hakki; Property Wars in Cyprus; Cyprus Mail (Nicosia); Mar 7, 2010.

See more usage examples of lebensraum in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it. The last is much the worst. -Oscar Wilde, writer (1854-1900)

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