Old German Words That Have Fallen into Oblivion #FunFriday

Language is constantly evolving, with new words being added to dictionaries while others fade away. This natural process is influenced by societal changes, technological advancements, and cultural trends. Understanding why certain words disappear can offer insights into the evolution of the German language.

Reasons for Words Falling into Obscurity

The Duden, Germany’s authoritative dictionary, regularly updates its entries. While new words are frequently incorporated, a significant number of older words are also removed. In 2020, for instance, 300 old words were removed, contrasted with 3,000 new additions. The first edition of the Duden contained approximately 27,000 keywords, while the current 28th edition boasts over 148,000.

Several factors contribute to words becoming obsolete:

• Societal and Cultural Shifts: Changes in politics, economics, and society introduce new concepts and vocabulary. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic led to the adoption of terms like “Herdenimmunität” (herd immunity) and “Shutdown.” Similarly, the emancipation movement rendered the term “Fräulein” (Miss) outdated.
• Technological Advancements: As technology progresses, older terms become redundant. The “Walkman,” for instance, is no longer in common use due to the rise of digital music players.
• Linguistic Trends and Fashion: New words, often from youth language or other languages (like Anglicisms and Gallicisms), gain popularity and can replace older synonyms. The word “Model” has largely replaced “Vorführdame” (demonstrator lady).
• Political Correctness: Words that are no longer considered politically correct or are deemed dehumanizing are often removed from common usage. Thankfully, words like “Rassenschande” (race defilement) disappeared after World War II.

Linguists continuously research word frequency across various media. Before a word is removed from the Duden entirely, it is often marked as obsolete. Many of these words remain accessible in the online version of the Duden.

A Selection of Obsolete German Words and Their Meanings

Here is a list of some older German words and their modern equivalents: