Did You Know...?
Fri, Mar 14th 2008, 06:55
So, we all know that Americans have adopted many words from other languages. But many of us are probably not even aware of where these words come from.
Are you aware of all the "Germanisms" we Americans use? Here are some I found interesting:
angst anxiety, worry, fear
iceberg from Eisberg, eis- ice, berg-mountain
poltergeist poltern- to make a lot of noise, geist-ghost
schlepp to drag, tow, carry
delikatessen/deli shop of delicacies
flak antiaircraft gun, or FLugAbwehrKanone
kaputt broken
kitsch gaudy, trashy, low class
Pez short for Pfefferminz (peppermint), brand from Austria
yammer from jammern - to whine, complain
sources: http://germanenglishwords.com