German words that should never have fallen out of use
Feb 25, 2023 12:33:59 GMT
Pacifica, LonginusNaso, and 1 more like this
Post by Bitmap on Feb 25, 2023 12:33:59 GMT
This is a loose selection of German words that I am sad to see the German language deprived of. I may continue this list when I can think of more or when I come across new examples. Others can add their ideas as well, of course.
hurren
meaning to run; akin to English hurry or even to the English word horse, which is Ross in German. They're essentially called horses because they run around the plains.
kiesen
the German equivalent of to choose, which is not in use anymore. You can still find a compound of it, but only the past (ich erkor, ich habe/wurde erkoren), but the actual verb has fallen out of use. Küren (to crown someone) still exists, which is related to that word.
siechen
This means to be sick and is obviously akin to the English word sick. There are nouns derived from that word that still exist, like Sucht (addiction) or Seuche (epidemic), but German doesn't have a word for being sick, anymore. It may still exist as a compound (dahinsiechen) in the semi-idiomatic expression "Er siecht vor sich dahin", but that's about it.
darben
this means to "be in need" and was used by Goethe ... which was kind of funny because none of my classmates seemed to know what it means when they read it. It doesn't really exist in English anymore, either, unless there are some of you who still use the word 'tharf'. The OE word for it is þurfan, I suppose, which would remind you of dürfen. Dürfen obviously still exists and is a very common modal verb in German, and there are derived terms like Bedarf (which means the noun 'need'). A Greek cognate may be τέρπω. Anyway, the word is archaic at best if not fully gone.
hurren
meaning to run; akin to English hurry or even to the English word horse, which is Ross in German. They're essentially called horses because they run around the plains.
kiesen
the German equivalent of to choose, which is not in use anymore. You can still find a compound of it, but only the past (ich erkor, ich habe/wurde erkoren), but the actual verb has fallen out of use. Küren (to crown someone) still exists, which is related to that word.
siechen
This means to be sick and is obviously akin to the English word sick. There are nouns derived from that word that still exist, like Sucht (addiction) or Seuche (epidemic), but German doesn't have a word for being sick, anymore. It may still exist as a compound (dahinsiechen) in the semi-idiomatic expression "Er siecht vor sich dahin", but that's about it.
darben
this means to "be in need" and was used by Goethe ... which was kind of funny because none of my classmates seemed to know what it means when they read it. It doesn't really exist in English anymore, either, unless there are some of you who still use the word 'tharf'. The OE word for it is þurfan, I suppose, which would remind you of dürfen. Dürfen obviously still exists and is a very common modal verb in German, and there are derived terms like Bedarf (which means the noun 'need'). A Greek cognate may be τέρπω. Anyway, the word is archaic at best if not fully gone.
