German Loan Words in English
A Survey of German Words Used in English
Introduction: A-F > G-L > M-Z
Also see > Porsche and Other German Words in English (with audio)
German loan words in English. Words in the list below marked with * were used in various rounds of recent Scripps National Spelling Bees.
| German Words in English G-L | ||
| ENGLISH | DEUTSCH | MEANING |
| Gasthaus | s Gasthaus | "guest house" - an inn, bed-and-breakfast |
| gauss Gaussian also: degauss |
s Gauß | Old unit of measurement of magnetic induction (symbol G or Gs, replaced by the Tesla), named for German mathematician and astronomer Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855), who invented the magnetometer. |
| gegenschein the Gegenschein pron. GAY-ghen-shine |
r Gegenschein | "counter glow" - The "opposition effect," a diffuse, faint light sometimes visible almost directly opposite the sun in the night sky, thought to be sunlight reflected by dust particles in the atmosphere. Web: Photo of the Gegenschein |
| Geiger counter | r Geigerzähler | Instrument for measuring radioactivity, named for German physicist Hans Geiger (1882-1945) |
| Gemeinschaft | e Gemeinschaft | "community" - A societal form of association giving precendence to personal relationships, kinship, and membership in a community, as opposed to Gesellschaft (below). |
| gemütlich | gemütlich | cordial, cozy, comfortable, warm |
| gemütlichkeit | e Gemütlichkeit | an atmosphere of cozy comfort, warm cordiality |
| Gesamtkunstwerk | s Gesamtkunstwerk | "comprehensive art work" - In Richard Wagner's aesthetic theory, an ideal synthesis of performing arts (music, drama, staging, etc.) forming a kind of total theater, which equals opera. |
| Gesellschaft | e Gesellschaft | "society" - A societal form of association giving precendence to rational order and obligations to institutions, as opposed to Gemeinschaft (above). |
| gestalt | e Gestalt | "shape, pattern" - in psychology any of the structures and patterns that make up a person's experiences |
| gesundheit* | e Gesundheit | "health" (not "bless you") |
| Gewürztraminer | r Gewürztraminer | "spice of Tramin" - A dry, fruity Alsatian white wine named for the northern Italian town of Tremeno ("Tramin" in Ger.) where this variety of wine grape is thought to have originated. |
| glitz glitzy |
glitzerig glitzern |
"glittering, sparkling" - gaudiness/gaudy, glittery, ostentatious(ness) |
| glockenspiel | s Glockenspiel | "bell play" - an instrument played by striking tuned flat metal plates |
| gneiss* (pron. NYCE) |
r Gneis | (geology) metamorphic rock resembling granite; in German the "g" is pronounced |
| Götterdämmerung* | e Götterdämmerung | "twilight of the gods," the total, violent collapse of a regime, society, institution; term borrowed from Wagnerian opera |
| hamburger | r Hamburger | orig. a "Hamburg steak," a fancy name for ground beef |
| hamster | r Hamster | burrowing animal often kept as a pet |
| heiligenschein* | r Heiligenschein | "halo glow" - a halolike optical phenomenon around an observer's shadow; also see "gegenschein" |
| hertz (Hz) gigahertz megahertz |
s Hertz | International unit of frequency (Hz = one cycle per second), named for German physicist Heinrich R. Hertz (1857-1894) |
| hinterland(s) | s Hinterland | "back country" - remote area; land bordering on coastal land |
| Kaiser* | r Kaiser | "emperor" - an Austrian or German emperor; from Latin "caesar" |
| kaput | kaputt | broken, not working; defeated |
| kindergarten | r Kindergarten | "children's garden" - The first kindergarten was created in Blankenberg (Thüringen) by Friedrich Fröbel (1782-1852) in 1839. |
| kitsch kitschy |
r Kitsch kitschig |
something gaudy or pretentious, in poor taste (art, literature, furnishings) |
| knackwurst knockwurst |
e Knackwurst | a thick, highly seasoned sausage named for the cracking (knacken) sound it makes when bitten into |
| kriegspiel | s Kriegsspiel | "war game" - game for teaching military tactics with small figures representing troops, tanks, etc. moved about on a large map |
| Kris Kringle | s Christkindl | "Christ child", an English corruption of Christkindl, the angel-like figure who brings gifts to German children on Christmas Eve; now a synonym for Santa Claus |
| lager | s Lager | "storeroom, warehouse" - lager beer gets its name from the fact that it is stored for aging |
| Lebensraum* | r Lebensraum | "living space" (historical) - territory for political or economic expansion; originally related to German imperialism |
| lederhosen | e Lederhose | leather pants |
| leitmotiv | s Leitmotiv | dominant or central theme (music, literature, etc.) |
| Levi's® pron. LEE-vyes |
Levi Strauss (1829-1902) |
Named for the German-born inventor of jeans |
| lied (pron. LEET) pl. lieder |
s Lied | "song" - a German lyrical song, usually based on classical German poetry |
| liverwurst leberwurst* |
e Leberwurst | "liver sausage" - sausage containing ground liver |
| loess | r Löss | a fine-grained, fertile loam |
| *Words used in various rounds of the Scripps National Spelling Bee held annually in Washington, D.C. | ||
|
Audio > Hear many of these words Also see: Erfinder/Inventors - German and other inventors |
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GERMAN LOAN WORDS in ENGLISH
A-F | G-L | M-Z
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