GERMAN WORDS USED IN ENGLISH
Dobermann: Dog breed named for the
1. Alzheimer's Disease: Brain disease named
for the German neurologist Alois
Alzheimer (1864-1915), who first
identified it in 1906
Example: Patients with Alzheimer's
disease (AD) were asked to respond to
simple probes of sentences where we
manipulated grammatical factors,
semantic factors, and cognitive resource
demands associated with a sentence.
2. Angst: Dread and anxiety
Example: Sylvia's teenage angst was
nothing compared to the parental angst
experienced by the two individuals whose
duty it was to raise her.
3. Apple strudel: A type of pastry made with
thin layers of dough, rolled up with a fruit
filling
Example: In your free time try authentic
apple strudel and Viennese coffee.
4. Aspirin: Acetylsalicyclic acid (also called
Aspirin) was invented by the German
chemist Felix Hoffmann working for Bayer
AG in 1899.
Example: The cost of prescribing aspirin
was lower till about a few years ago.
5. Coffee klatsch (klatch): A casual social
gathering for coffee and conversation.
Example: I thoroughly enjoyed our coffee
klatsch yesterday, the highlight of which
was the discussion on global warming.
6. Diesel: The diesel engine is named for its
German inventor, Rudolf Diesel
Example: My car runs on diesel unlike his
which runs on petrol.
7.
German Friedrich Louis Dobermann
Example: I have 4 pugs, an English
bulldog and a very naughty Dobermann.
8. Doppelganger: A ghostly double, look-
alike, or clone of a person
Example: He saw his own doppelganger
walking down the street, and ran home in
terror.
9. Doppler effect: Apparent change in the
frequency of light or sound waves, caused
by rapid movement; named for the
Austrian physicist C.J. Doppler who
discovered the effect
Example: The use of the Doppler effect for
light in astronomy depends on our
knowledge that the spectra of stars are
not continuous.
10. Fahrenheit: The Fahrenheit temperature
scale is named for its German inventor,
Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, who invented
the alcohol thermometer
Example: Fahrenheit 451 is the
temperature at which book paper burns.
11. Feinschmecker: Gourmet
Example: No, I don't think McDonald's will
do; he's much too much of a
Feinschmecker.
12. Frankfurter: Hot dog, originally a type of
German sausage (Wurst) from Frankfurt
Example: She makes such delicious
Frankfurters that her kids want them at
least once a week.
13. Kindergarten: A school or class for young
children between the ages of four and six
years.
 Example: She wanted to send her children
to the best kindergarden in town.

14. Schadenfreude: Pleasure at someone

else's misfortunes

Example: Schadenfreude suffused the

classroom after the insufferably
supercilious class pet was caught cheating
by the teacher.

15. Verboten: Forbidden, as by law;

prohibited. Example: That topic, I am
afraid, is verboten in this household.

16. Wanderjahr: A year or period of travel,

especially following one's schooling.
Example: The trio took off on their
Wanderjahr, intent on visiting every
museum between Edinburgh and Rome.

17. Weltschmerz: Sorrow over the evils of the

world. Example: His poetry expressed a
certain Weltschmerz, or world-weariness.

18. Zeitgeist: The thought or sensibility

characteristic of a particular period of
time. Example: She blamed it on the
Zeitgeist, which encouraged hedonistic
excess