German word for old one

German Genealogical Word List
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Introduction[edit | edit source]

This list contains German words with their English translations. On most computers, simultaneously pressing CTRL and F (Command and F, if on a Mac) will search this page for the word you wish to translate. The words included here are those that you are likely to find in genealogical sources. If the word you are looking for is not on this list, please consult a German-English dictionary, the online Grimm Deutsches Wörterbuch (one of the best sources), or other regional online dictionaries found at woerterbuchnetz.de. Latin words are often found in German records, and a few are included in this list. See the Latin Genealogical Word List (34077).

German is spoken in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. Records written in German may be found in these countries and also in parts of Poland, Denmark, Luxembourg, Czechia, Hungary, and wherever German people settled. There are several different dialects in the German language. For example, in the province of Westfalen and other areas of Germany that border the Netherlands, you may notice words that are closely related to Dutch. You may find the Dutch Genealogical Word List useful when working with these records.

In addition, German is found in some early records of the United States, such as in Pennsylvania, Texas, Wisconsin, and other states where Germans lived.

Language Characteristics[edit | edit source]

German words for persons, places, and things (nouns) are always capitalized. All nouns are classified as masculine, feminine, or neuter. This classification is called gender. The gender of a noun is indicated by der (masculine), die (feminine), and das (neuter), all three of which translate as «the.» Word endings may vary depending on the way the words are used in the sentence.

Variant Forms of Words[edit | edit source]

In German, as in English, the forms of some words will vary according to how they are used in the sentence. Who—whose—whom or marry—marries—married are examples of words in English with variant forms. In German, the form of many words can change greatly. This word list focuses on the standard form of each German word. As you read German records, you will need to be aware that some words vary with usage.

The endings of words in a document may differ from those on this list. For example, the document may use the word junger, but you will find it in this word list as jung. In addition, the suffixes -chen and -lein are often added to words to indicate «little»; when one of these suffixes is added, the vowel usually changes slightly. Therefore, the word Söhnchen means «little or young son» (Sohn = son) and Töchterlein means «little or young daughter» (Tochter = daughter).

Adjectives describe nouns and must have the proper masculine, feminine, or neuter endings. For example, in German you would say «junger Mann» (young man), «junges Mädchen» (young maiden), or «junge Frau» (young woman) if a man, maiden, and woman are the subjects of a sentence. Adjective endings can change depending on usage and gender.

Plural words are usually formed by adding -er, -en, or -e. Thus the word Kind becomes Kinder, Frau becomes Frauen, and Aufgebot becomes Aufgebote. Plurality may also change the vowel slightly. For example, Mann becomes Männer.

In German, many words are formed by joining two or more words together. Very few of these compound words are included in this list. You will need to look up each part of the word separately. For example, Geburtstag is a combination of two words: Geburt (birth) and Tag (day).

Dialects[edit | edit source]

Germany has a range of different dialects. These can be grouped into two main groups: Low German spoken in the northern lowlands of Germany, and High German spoken in the more mountainous south. Traditional dialects form a continuum as opposed to sharp charges, with dialects slowing becoming more «Low German» as one moves towards the north. Dutch dialects can be viewed as a continuation of this continuum.

High German has become the most «standard» dialect of German. See these wiki articles for specific information on Low German: Low German Language in German Research, The Dialect Basis of Spelling Variation in German Surnames, Spelling Variants in the Northern Rheinland.

Diacritic Marks[edit | edit source]

German uses diacritics over several letters, i.e. Ä (ä), Ö (ö), Ü (ü). These diacritics are not optional in German because the pronunciation and meaning of a word will be changed depending on whether the diacritic is added or omitted. There is another symbol that will be found in German, namely ß. It has the value of <ss>. Historically, German also included Ÿ (ÿ) which today has been replaced with the letters I (i) and Ü (ü).

For data entry and some searches, it is useful to know how to create these characters. Note: Do not use diacritics when searching in the FamilySearch Catalog.

From a PC keyboard, these letters may be created by using the following keystroke combinations. Make sure the number lock is on.

Letter	Code	Letter	Code
Ä	Alt + 142	ä	Alt + 132
Ö	Alt + 153	ö	Alt + 148
Ü	Alt + 154	ü	Alt + 129
ß	Alt + 225
Ÿ	Alt + 376	ÿ	Alt + 152

On a Linux system it is possible to use a control combination with the Unicode code for the characters. Using the left Ctrl and Shift keys and the U key at the same time, then type the code and hit Enter. For example, left Ctrl-Shift-U then c then 4 then enter will produce Ä, Ctrl-Shift-U then dc is Ü, and so on. For a complete list of codes, reference https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Unicode_characters.

Alphabetical Order[edit | edit source]

German letters with diacritic marks will be alphabetized in this publication as though they were a, o, u, and ss. However, many dictionaries and gazetteers will alphabetize these characters as if they were ae, oe, ue, and ss.

Spelling[edit | edit source]

Because spelling rules were not standardized in earlier centuries, spelling variations are common. Local dialect often affects the spelling in genealogical records, and a person’s name may show up spelled in numerous ways in various records (sometimes even within a single record). In German records, the following letters are sometimes used interchangeably:

• p used for b
• a used for e
• t used for d or dt
• s used for z
• ck used for k
• y used for i or j
• v used for w or f
• k used for g
• tz used for z
• ig used for isch or ich
• t used for th
• u used for i

Examples:

• Freytag for Freitag
• Burckhart for Burkhard
• Waldpurga for Waldburga
• undt for und

Transcription[edit | edit source]

In transcriptions of German handwriting some errors are prevalent:

• n transcribed u or w
• e transcribed n or r
• r transcribed s
• Z transcribed F, G, J, or L
• z transcribed g or y

Transliteration[edit | edit source]

Transliteration between languages (especially in personal names) is seen as a result of migration and due to the geographical proximity of languages. The German letters s and z are notably affected. As such, e.g., a German name containing the letter s is likely to appear with the letters sz in Hungarian.

• German s = Hungarian sz
• German sh = Hungarian s
• German z = Hungarian cz = Dutch s

Additional Resources[edit | edit source]

This word list includes only words most commonly found in genealogical sources. For further help, use a German-English dictionary. Several German-English dictionaries are available in the FamilySearch Library. These are in the European collection. The call numbers begin with 433.21.

Particularly helpful dictionaries include:

• Langenscheidt New Muret-Sanders Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English and German Languages. Berlin, Germany: Langenscheidt, 1969, 1974 (FS Library book 433.21 Sp83n).

• The New Cassell’s German Dictionary, German-English, English-German. New York, NY, USA: Funk and Wagnalls, Inc., 1971 (FS Library book 433.211 C272 1971).

• Rudy’s List of Archaic Medical Terms. German and Latin terms are included at this website.

• Das Deutsche Wörterbuch / Deutsches Wörterbuch (DWB, The «German Dictionary» / «German Dictionary») is one of the most important dictionaries of the German language. Written entirely in German, the dictionary contains 32 volumes and includes about 350,000 main entries. It is particularly useful for finding the meaning of words in genealogical documents that are no longer used in modern German. See the online version by clicking here.

• Oeconomische Encyclopädie online Encyclopedia of archaic German terms (German to German).

Additional dictionaries are listed in the subject section of the FamilySearch Catalog under GERMAN LANGUAGE — DICTIONARIES or in the locality section under GERMANY — LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGES.

• BYU Script German Tutorials

For resources showing how any name or word looks written in the old German script, see Language Aids at Germany Languages.

Key Words[edit | edit source]

To find and use specific types of German records, you will need to know some key words in German. This section gives key genealogical terms in English and the German words with the same or similar meanings.

For example, in the first column you will find the English word marriage. In the second column you will find German words with meanings such as marry, marriage, wedding, wedlock, unite, joined, and other words used in German records to indicate marriage.

English	German
birth	Geburten, Geburtsregister, Geborene, geboren
burial	Beerdigungen, begraben, Begräbnisse, bestattet, beerdigt
Catholic	katholisch
census	Volkszählung
child	Kind, Kinder
christening	Taufe, Taufen, Getaufte
confirmations	Konfirmationen, Firmungen
civil registry	Standesamt
death	Tote, Tod, sterben, starb, verstorben, gestorben, Sterbefall
father	Vater
husband	Mann, Ehemann, Gatte
index	Verzeichnis, Register
Jewish	jüdisch, Jude(n), israelitisch
marriage banns	Proklamationen, Aufgebote, Verkündigungen
marriage	Heiraten, Trauungen, Getraute, Ehe, Kopulation, kopulieren, verheiratet, Verehelichungen, Eheschliessungen
month	Monat
mother	Mutter
name, given	Vorname, Name
name, surname	Zuname, Familienname, Geschlechtsname, Name
parents	Eltern
parish	Pfarrei, Kirchspiel, Gemeinde
Protestant	evangelisch, lutherisch, Protestant
Reformed	reformiert
wife	Frau, Ehefrau, Hausfrau, Weib, Eheweib, Gattin, Ehegattin
year	Jahr

Dates/Time[edit | edit source]

In German records, dates are often written out. For example:

Freitag den vierzehnten Februar achtzehnhundert sechs und dreißig [Friday, the 14th of February, eighteen hundred six and thirty (1836)].

To understand German dates, use the following lists as well as the “Numbers” section on this wiki page.

Months[edit | edit source]

English	German
January	Januar, Jänner, Hartung, Jenner
February	Februar, Hornung
March	März, Frühlingsmonat
April	April, Ostermonat, Osteren
May	Mai, Wonnemonat, Blütemonat
June	Juni, Brachmonat
July	Juli, Heuert, Heumonat, Heuet
August	August, Erntemonat, Hitzmonat
September	September, Fruchtmonat, Herbstmonat, Herpsten, 7ber, 7bris
October	Oktober, Weinmonat, 8ber, 8bris
November	November, Wintermonat, 9ber, 9bris
December	Dezember, Christmonat, 10ber, 10bris, Xber, Xbris

A more extensive list of month names in German.

Days of the Week[edit | edit source]

English		German
Sunday		Sonntag
Monday		Montag
Tuesday		Dienstag
Wednesday		Mittwoch
Thursday		Donnerstag
Friday		Freitag, Freytag
Saturday		Samstag, Sonnabend

See also:

• Special symbols used for week days.

Times of the Day[edit | edit source]

German birth and death records often indicated the exact time of day when the birth or death occurred. This is usually written out.

German	English
ein Uhr	one (o’clock)
zwei Uhr	two (o’clock)
drei Uhr	three (o’clock)
halb eins	half one = 12:30
halb zwei	half two = 1:30
halbe Stunde	half hour
Stunde	hour
früh	early (a.m.)
spät	late (p.m.)
morgens	in the morning
vormittags	in the forenoon
mittags	at noon
nachmittags	in the afternoon
abends	in the evening
mitternachts	at midnight
Diesen tag	this (very) day, today

Symbols[edit | edit source]

Sometimes a symbol is used in German genealogical sources rather than abbreviations. Some of these are shown at GenWiki, Genealogical Symbols and Signs.

Occupations[edit | edit source]

• German Occupations Vocabulary handout
• Berufe und Sozialstatus der Vorfahren In German.
  An excellent analysis of historical German occupations and social status.
  Hint: Use a web-based translator or translator/browser like Chrome to see this in passable English.

Medical Terminology[edit | edit source]

• Illnesses Vocabulary handout
• German Medical Terminology — includes historical illnesses and medical terms

Numbers[edit | edit source]

Number	Cardinal (English)	Cardinal (German)	Ordinal (German)
1	one	eins	erste
2	two	zwei zweÿ	zweite
3	three	drei dreÿ	dritte
4	four	vier	vierte
5	five	fünf	fünfte
6	six	sechs	sechste
7	seven	sieben	siebte
8	eight	acht	achte
9	nine	neun	neunte
10	ten	zehn	zehnte
11	eleven	elf eilf	elfte eilfte
12	twelve	zwölf	zwölfte
13	thirteen	dreizehn	dreizehnte
14	fourteen	vierzehn	vierzehnte
15	fifteen	fünfzehn	fünfzehnte
16	sixteen	sechzehn	sechzehnte
17	seventeen	siebzehn	siebzehnte
18	eighteen	achtzehn	achtzehnte
19	nineteen	neunzehn	neunzehnte
20	twenty	zwanzig	zwanzigste
21	twenty-one	einundzwanzig	einundzwanzigste
22	twenty-two	zweiundzwanzig	zweiundzwanzigste
23	twenty-three	dreiundzwanzig	dreiundzwanzigste
24	twenty-four	vierundzwanzig	vierundzwanzigste
25	twenty-five	fünfundzwanzig	fünfundzwanzigste
26	twenty-six	sechsundzwanzig	sechsundzwanzigste
27	twenty-seven	siebenundzwanzig	siebenundzwanzigste
28	twenty-eight	achtundzwanzig	achtundzwanzigste
29	twenty-nine	neunundzwanzig	neunundzwanzigste
30	thirty	dreißig	dreißigste
31	thirty-one	einunddreißig	einunddreißigste
40	forty	vierzig	vierzigste
50	fifty	fünfzig	fünfzigste
60	sixty	sechzig	sechzigste
70	seventy	siebzig	siebzigste
80	eighty	achtzig	achtzigste
90	ninety	neunzig	neunzigste
100	one hundred	(ein)hundert	(ein)hundertste
101	one hundred (and) one	(ein)hunderteins	(ein)hunderterste
102	one hundred (and) two	(ein)hundertzwei	(ein)hundertzweite
120	one hundred (and) twenty	(ein)hundertzwanzig	(ein)hundertzwanzigste
121	one hundred (and) twenty-one	(ein)hunderteinundzwanzig	(ein)hunderteinundzwanzigste
122	one hundred (and) twenty-two	(ein)hundertzweiundzwanzig	(ein)hundertzweiundzwanzigste
200	two hundred	zweihundert	zweihundertste
300	three hundred	dreihundert	dreihundertste
1.000	one thousand	(ein)tausend	(ein)tausendste
1.001	one thousand (and) one	(ein)tausendeins	(ein)tausenderste
1.002	one thousand (and) two	(ein)tausendzwei	(ein)tausendzweite
1.050	one thousand (and) fifty	(ein)tausendfünfzig	(ein)tausendfünfzigste
1.100	one thousand (and) one hundred eleven hundred	(ein)tausendeinhundert	(ein)tausendeinhundertste
1.500 1500	one thousand (and) five hundred fifteen hundred	(ein)tausendfünfhundert fünfzehnhundert Fünfzehnjahrhundert (1400s century)	(ein)tausendfünfhundertste fünfzehnhundertste
1.600 1600	one thousand (and) six hundred sixteen hundred	(ein)tausendsechshundert sechzehnhundert Sechzehnjahrhundert (1500s century)	(ein)tausendsechshundertste sechzehnhundertste
1.700 1700	one thousand (and) seven hundred seventeen hundred	(ein)tausendsiebenhundert siebzehnhundert Siebzehnjahrhundert (1600s century)	(ein)tausendsiebenhundertste siebzehnhundertste
1.800 1800	one thousand (and) eight hundred eighteen hundred	(ein)tausendachthundert achtzehnhundert Achtzehnjahrhundert (1700s century)	(ein)tausendachthundertste achtzehnhundertste
1.865 1865	one thousand, eight hundred, (and) sixty-five eighteen sixty-five	(ein)tausendachthundertfünfundsechzig achtzehnhundertfünfundsechzig actzehnhundert sechzig fünf (rarely in old documents)	(ein)tausendachthundertfünfundsechzigste achtzehnhundertfünfundsechzigste
1.900 1900	one thousand (and) nine hundred nineteen hundred	(ein)tausendneunhundert neunzehnhundert Neunzehnjahrhundert (1800s century)	(ein)tausendneunhundertste neunzehnhundertste
2.000 2000	two thousand	zweitausend zwanzighundert Zwanzigjahrhundert (1900s century)	zweitausendste zwanzighundertste
10.000	ten thousand	zehntausend	zehntausendste
100.000	one hundred thousand	hunderttausend	hunderttausendste
1.000.000	one million	eine Million	millionste
1.000.000.000	one billion	eine Millarde	milliardste

Types of Farmers[edit | edit source]

There are many different words meaning «farmer» in German. Most of these words explain what type of farmer a person is.

German	English
Abbauer	farmer on a section split off from the original farm, perhaps a later-born son
Abnahmemann	retired farmer living on a life estate
Abschiedsmann	retired farmer living on a life estate
Achtelbauer	farmer with 1/8 farm
Achtelhüfner	farmer with 1/8 farm
Achtermann	farmer on a farm behind one’s own
Ackerbauer	farmer
Ackerbürger	farmer
Ackerer	farmer
Ackerknecht	farmhand
Ackersmann	farmer
Ackerwirt, Ackerwirth	farmer
Altbauer	old, established farmer, possibly retired
Altenteiler, Ausgedinger, Ausdinger	retired farmer
Altenteilerin	retired farmer’s wife
Althufner, Althüfner	retired farmer
Altsitzer(in)	retired farmer
Amtsmeier	farmer with a large estate and special rights
Anbauer	small farmer
Anspänner	farmer who owns draft animals (horses, oxen) and a wagon
Aröder	new settler on farmland belonging to an estate
Artmann	farmer
Artmeier	farmer
Auenhäusler	cottager, free villager with a small house, garden, and some livestock
Ausdinger	retired farmer
Auszügler	retired farmer
Bäuerle, Bauerli	farmer (Swiss)
Bauer	peasant, farmer on a full-sized farm
Bauernknecht	farmhand
Bauknecht	farmhand
Baumann	farmer, can also be a builder
Beerbter	farmer with an inheritable lease
Behandinge	feudal tenure on a farm
Beibauer	farmer on a new farm, officially recognized, but with few privileges
Beisasse	landless renter without citizen rights in the community
Beiwohner	rental inhabitant without citizenship
Beständer	farmer on a small farm
Bestanderlasser	landlord over a small farm
Bestandwirt	farmer leasing farm land
Bödener	cottager, free villager with a small house, garden, and some livestock
Bolsmann, Bohlsmann	farmer with a full-sized farm
Brinker	cottager, see Brinksitzer
Brinkkötter	cottager, see Brinksitzer
Brinklieger	cottager, see Brinksitzer
Brinkmann	cottager, see Brinksitzer
Brinksitzer	cottager, his property situated on a grassy hill (Brink) on the outskirts
Büdner	cottager, small-scale farmer, could also have a small shop
Buhmann, Bumann	farmer
Buschpächter	tenant farmer who clears the land, then farms it (Eastern Pomerania)
Chalupner, Challupner	small-scale farmer [often used in Czech records]
Dotale, Dotalbauer	farmer who leases church-income property
Eigengärtner	cottager with a garden of his own
Eigenkäthner	cottager with a garden of his own
Eigenkötter	cottager with a garden of his own
Einlieger	free agricultural laborer
Einspänner	farmer with one horse
Erbbauer	farmer on a full-sized farm with inherited lease rights
Erbpächter	farmer with a hereditary land lease
Exner	poorer framer who used oxen
Feuerstättler	cottager (whose dwelling has a fireplace)
Freibauer	free farmer with only small rent payments
Freigärtner	free farmer
Fröhner	subject performing unpaid labor for the lord of the land (as part of the taxation system)
Gärtner	farmer
Ganzlechner, Ganzlehner	farmer who leases a standard-sized farm
Gesinde	male or female hired help on a farm
Häker, Häcker	small farmer (lower-class subject) who must perform unpaid labor for the landlord as part of his obligations
Halblechner, Halblehner	farmer who leases half of a standard-sized farm
Heuerling	day laborer
Hofer	farmer
Hofgänger	farmhand
Hofmann	farmer
Hofstädtler	farmer
Hofwirth	farmer
Hoppenplöcker	farmer who is obligated to do “hand service” (in Lippe)
Hortulanus	farmer (Latin)
Huber	farmer
Hübler	farmer; expression comes from “Hube”
Hüttler, Hitler	cottager
Inlieger	tenant farmer
Inste, Instmann	tenant farmer
Interimswirt, Interimswirth	farmer who marries into a farm by marrying the widow or heiress
Kätner, Käthner, Köthner	cottager with a small house and a garden of his own, perhaps some livestock
Kampheuerling	tenant of a farm belonging to nobility
Kirchdotale	farmer who leases church-income property
Kitzmann	rents from a farmer
Knecht	farmhand
Kölmer	farmer who is «half free»
Köter, Kötter	cottager
Kolon	farmer on a farm with hereditary tithe
Kolonist	new settler in the area; most, but not all, were farmers
Kolupner	cottager; see Chal(l)upner
Kossate, Kossäth	cottager
Kotsass, Kotasse	cottager
Landmann	farmer
Lehner	farmer who leases a farm
Magd	female helper on a farm
Meyer	farmer, farm overseer, manager
Ochsner	poorer farmer who used oxen
Ökonom	farmer
Pachtbauer	farmer who leases his land (often an inheritable lease)
Päger	farmer who ploughs with horses
Pfarrdotale	farmer who leases church-income property
Robotgärtner	unfree farmer/farm laborer
Rössner	farmer who ploughed with horses
Scharknecht	farmhand
Söldner	farmer who farmed on a small section of land called a “Sölde”
Strassenkötter	cottager living by a road
Tagelöhner	day laborer
Tagner	day laborer
Tauner, Thauner	day laborer
Viertelbauer	farmer on 1/4 farm
Viertelhufner, Viertelhüfner	farmer on 1/4 farm
Viertellehner	farmer who leases a quarter of a standard-sized farm
Vollbauer	farmer on a full-sized farm
Voll-lehner, Volllehner	farmer who leases a full farm
Vollmaier	farmer on a full-sized farm
Vollspänner	farmer on a full-sized farm
Weingärtner	wine grower
Weingartknecht	farmhand in a vineyard
Weinzettel	farmhand in a vineyard
Widumer	farmer settled on church property
Winzer	wine grower
Wirt, Wirth	farmer
Zettelmann	farmhand
Zweispänner	farmer who owns two draft animals

General Word List[edit | edit source]

Note: In German, letters with diacritical marks are alphabetized as if they did not have a diacritical mark. In some other languages, they are alphabetized separately.

A[edit | edit source]

German	English
A. = Amt, Amtsbezirk	government office, official district
Ab., Abe. = Abbaue(e), Ausbau(e)	surface mine(s)
Abt. = Abteilung	department
a/d = an der, auf der	on the, by the (followed by the name of a river or other geographical feature)
A.G. = Amtsgericht	lower court, county court
Anh. = Anhalt	duchy of Anhalt
ab	from, since
Abbauer	tenant on a (new, split-off) farm; heir with a small part of a farm (usually a second son)
Abdecker	skinner
Abend	evening
Abendmahlgast	communicant
abends	in the evening
Abenteurer	jeweler, jewel trader; adventurer
aber	but
abgestorben	deceased
Ablader	longshoreman
Abnahmemann	retired farmer on life estate
Abnehmer	photographer
Abschiedsmann	man retired on life estate
absterben	to die, to die off
Abstreifer	renderer; flayer
Abzehrung	emaciation, wasting
acht	eight
achte	eighth
Achter	juryman
achtundzwanzigste	twenty-eighth
achtzehn	eighteen
achtzehnhundert	eighteen hundred
achtzehnte	eighteenth
achtzig	eighty
achtzigste	eightieth
Ackermann	farmer
Adel	gentry, nobleman
a.D. = außer Dienst	formerly employed, retired
adoptiert	adopted
Ahnen	ancestors
Ahnentafel	pedigree chart
Akten	documents
alle	all
allhier	in this place
alt	old
Altbürger	full citizen
Alter	age
Altersschwäche	weakness of old age
ältest	eldest
alt-katholisch	old Catholic
Amman	bailiff, magistrate
Amt	office, district
Anbauer	peasant
andere	other, next
Angeber	informant
angeblich	alleged, assumed
angeheiratet	related by marriage (stepson, stepdaughter)
Anhalt	duchy of Anhalt
Anmerkungen	remarks
Ansiedler	settler
Anspänner	farmer
apostolisch	Apostolic
April	April
Arbeiter, Arbeitsmann	laborer, worker
Archiv	archive
arm	poor
Armut	poverty
Arzt	physician
auch	also, too
auf	on, upon, at
aufbieten	post banns
Aufenthaltserlaubnis	residence permit
Aufenthaltsort	residence
Aufgebot	publication of banns
Aufnahmebuch	book listing debts
Aufnahmeland	country to which one immigrated
August	August
aus	from, out of
außen	outside
äußere	outside, outward, external
außerehelich	illegitimate
Auswanderer	emigrant
Auswanderung	emigration
Ausweis	identification document
Auszehrung	consumption or emaciation (especially from TB)
Auszug	extract

Words starting with:		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z

B[edit | edit source]

German	English
B. = Bezirk	district or area
BA. = Bezirksamt	district office
Bay. = Bayern	Bavaria
Bd. = Band	volume
Bhf. = Bahnhof	railroad station
Bkdo. = Bezirkskommando	military district command
bz. = beziehungsweise	or, respectively
Bäcker	baker
Bad	spa, resort
Badeort	spa, health resort
Bader	physician of the lower classes
Band	volume
Baptist	Baptist
Baron	baron
Bauer	farmer, peasant
Bayern	Bavaria
Beamter	official, registrar
Beck(er)	baker
beerdigt	buried
Beerdigung	burial, interment
beglaubigt	certified, attested
begraben	buried
Begräbnis	burial
bei	at, in, by
Beichte	confession
beide	both
Beilage	supplement
Bekannte(r)	acquaintance
Bekehrung	conversion
Beklagter(in)	defendant
Belege	proof, documentation
Bemerkungen	remarks
Berg	hill, mountain
Bergmann	miner
Beruf	occupation, profession
Beschreibung	description
Besitzer	possessor, proprietor, owner
Bestandmüller	mill tenant
bestätigt	confirmed, verified
bestattet	buried
bettlägerig	bedridden
Bettler	beggar
Bevölkerungsregister	population register
bevorstehend	previously mentioned
Bezirk	district
Biographie	biography
Bischof	bishop
Bistum	diocese
Blattern	smallpox
blutend	bleeding
Blütenmonat	May
Blutsverwandschaft	blood relationship
Böhmen	Bohemia
Bootsmann	bargeman, boatman
Böttcher	cooper, barrel maker
Brauer	brewer
Bräune	diphtheria
Braut	bride
Bräutigam	bridegroom
Brücke	bridge
Bruder	brother
Bub	boy
Buch	book
Büdner	cottager
Burg	castle, fortress
Bürger	burgher, citizen, citizens
Bürgerbuch	citizen register
Bürgermeister	mayor
Bursch, Pursch	young man
Büttner	barrel maker

Words starting with:		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z

C[edit | edit source]

German	English
ca. = circa	about
Chirug	surgeon
Christmonat	December
Colonist	settler, tenant farmer
Comparent	informant
copulieren	to marry
Cossate, Cossathe	cottager
cribrarius	sieve maker (Latin)

Words starting with:		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z

D[edit | edit source]

German	English
d. = der, dem, des, die, das	the
D. = Dorf	village
das. = daselbst	residing in this place, there, the previously mentioned place
Dachdecker	roofer
dahier	here
dänisch	Danish
das	the
daselbst	residing in this place, there, the previously mentioned place
Datum	date
Dekanat	deanery
dem, den	the
der	the, of the
derselbe	the same
des	of the
deutsch	German
Deutschland	Germany
Dezember	December
die	the
Diener	servant
Dienst	service, employment
Dienstag	Tuesday
Dienstmagd	servant girl
dieser	this, these
dimittiert, dimittirt	dismissed (in order to be married in another parish)
Dispensation(en)	dispensation(s), special permission
Distrikt	district
Domäne	domain
Donnerstag	Thursday
Dorf	village
dort	there
drei	three
dreißig	thirty
dreißigste	thirtieth
dreiundzwanzigste	twenty-third
dreizehn	thirteen
dreizehnte	thirteenth
dritte	third
Duplikat	duplicate record
durch	through
Durchfall	diarrhea

Words starting with:		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z

E[edit | edit source]

German	English
E. = Einwohner	residents, population
ehrngeachte	honorable
Eis. = Eisenbahn	railroad, train
Ev., ev. = Evangelische, evangelisch	Evangelical (Lutheran)
ebenda	at the same place
Ehe	marriage
Ehebrecher	adulterer
Ehebruch	adultery
Ehefrau	wife, housewife
Ehehindernis	hinderance to marriage
ehel. = ehelich	legitimate
eheleiblich	legitimate
Eheleute	married couple
ehelich	legitimate
ehemals	formerly
Ehemann	husband
Ehepaar	married couple
Ehescheidung	divorce
Eheschließung	marriage
Ehestand	married state
Eheverkündigungen	marriage banns
Eheversprechen, Eheverspruch	betrothal, engagement
Eidam (Eidmann)	son-in-law
Eigentümer	proprietor, property owner
ein, eine	a, one, an
Einbürgerung	naturalization
Einlieger	landless farm laborer
eins	one
Einsender	informant, declarant
eintausendachthundert	eighteen hundred
eintausendfünfhundert	fifteen hundred
eintausendneunhundert	nineteen hundred
eintausendsechshundert	sixteen hundred
eintausendsiebenhundert	seventeen hundred
einunddreissig	thirty-one
einunddreissigste	thirty-first
einundzwanzigste	twenty-first
Einwanderer	immigrant
Einwanderung	immigration
einwilligend	consenting, in agreement with, approving of
Einwilligung	permission
Einwohner	inhabitant
einzige	only
Eisenbahn	railroad
Eiterbeule	abscess
elf	eleven
elfte	eleventh
Eltern	parents
Enkel	grandson
Enkelin	granddaughter
Enkelkind	grandchild
eod(em)	the same, ditto
Epilepsie	epilepsy
er	he
Erben	heirs
Erbschaft	inheritance
erhalten	received, receive
erklärt	declared
Erlassung	dispensation, permission
Ermächtigung	authorization
Ernting	August
errechnet	approximated, calculated
erschien	appeared
erste	first
erstgeboren	firstborn
ertrank, ertrunken	drowned
erzeugen	beget
erzeugt	begat
es	it
et uxor	and wife (Latin)
evangelisch	evangelical

Words starting with:		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z

F[edit | edit source]

German	English
Fabrikant	manufacturer
Fallkind	illegitimate child
Familie	family
Familienbuch	family register
Familienforschung	genealogical research
Familienregister	family register
Färber	dyer
Faßbinder	cooper, barrel maker
Fäule	cancer
Fayencenhändler	porcelain merchant
Februar	February
Fehlgeburt	miscarriage
Festtag	feast day, festival day, holy day
Festung	fortress
Fieber	fever
Findling	foundling
Firmung	confirmation
Fischer	fisher
Fl. = Florin	standard monetary unit
Flecken	hamlet, also measles or spots
Fleckfieber	spotted fever, typhus
Fleischer	butcher
Fleischhauer	butcher
Flüchtling	refugee, deserter
Fluß	river
folgende	following, next
Forst	forest
Förster	forester
Fourier	quartermaster
Fraisen	convulsions, epilepsy, seizures, spasms
Frankreich	France
Frau	Mrs., wife, woman
Fräulein	Miss, unmarried woman
Freibauer	farmer who owns his own land
Freiherr	baron
Freitag	Friday
fremd	foreign, strange
Freund	friend
Friedhof	cemetery
Friesel	prickly heat, heat rash, miliaria
Friseur	hairdresser
früh	early (a.m.)
früher	former, formerly
Frühgeburt	premature birth
Frühkind	child born too soon after its parents married
fünf	five
Fuhrmann	waggoner
fünfte	fifth
fünfundzwanzigste	twenty-fifth
fünfzehn	fifteen
fünfzehnhundert	fifteen hundred
fünfzehnte	fifteenth
fünfzig	fifty
fünfzigste	fiftieth
für	for
Fürst	prince, count
Fürstentum	principality

Words starting with:		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z

G[edit | edit source]

German	English
G. = Gericht	court
geb. = geboren	born, maiden name
Gem. = Gemeinde	community, municipality, parish, town
gest. = gestorben	died
get. = getauft	baptized, christened
gez. = gezeichnet	signed
Gr. = Groß	Great (part of place name)
Gärtner	gardener
Gastwirt	innkeeper
Gatte	husband
Gattin	wife
geben, gab	given, gave
Gebiet	region, area, zone
geboren	born, maiden name
Gebühren	fees
Geburt	birth
Geburtsort	place of birth
Geburtsschein	birth certificate
Geburtsurkunde	birth certificate
gegen	against, towards
(im) Gegenwart (der)	(in the) presence (of)
gegenwärtig	currently
geheiratet	married
gehört	belongs (to)
Geistliche(r)	clergyman
Gelbsucht	jaundice
Geld	money
Gemahl(in)	spouse, husband, wife
Gemeinde	community, municipality, parish, town
Gemeindemann	village official, village resident
Gemeindsmann	citizen with full rights
gemelli	twins
genannt	named, alias, called
Genealogie	genealogy
Gerber	tanner
Gericht	court
Gerichtsmann	juryman
Gerichtsschöffe	member of the court
Gerichtsschöppe	member of the court
Gerichtsschreiber	court clerk
Gerichtsverwandter	member of the judicial court
gesagt	said, stated
Geschichte	history
geschieden	divorced
Geschlecht	gender, sex, lineage
Geschlechterbücher	lineage books
Geschlechtsname	surname
Geschwister	siblings, brothers and sisters
Geschwisterkind	sibling’s child (nephew, niece)
Geschwulst	swelling, tumor
Geselle	journeyman
Gesellschaft	society, group
Gesetz	law
gesetzlich	legal
gestern	yesterday
gestorben	died
Getaufte	person who was baptized
getr. = getraut	married
Getraute	married couple
Gevatter	godfather
Gewerbe	trade, occupation
gewerblos	without occupation
Gicht	gout, arthritis
Gilde	guild
Glaube	belief, faith
Glauben	religious affiliation
gleich	same, alike, similar, right away
Gode	godmother
Graf	count (nobleman), earl
Grafschaft	county
Grenze	border
groß	big, great, large
Großeltern	grandparents
großjährig	of age
Großmutter	grandmother
Großneffe	great-nephew
Großnichte	great-niece
Großvater	grandfather
Grundbuch	land register
Gulden	standard monetary unit, florin
Gürtler	maker of straps and belts
Gut	property, estate
gut	good
Gutsbesitzer	Estate Owner
Gutsverwalter	Estate Manager

Words starting with:		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z

H[edit | edit source]

German	English
Handzeichen	sign, symbol, mark
Hann. = Hannover	Hanover
Herrsch. = Herrschaft	manor, estate, domain
Hessen-N. = Hessen-Nassau	Prussian province of Hessen-Nassau
hzl. = herzoglich	of the duke
Hzt. = Herzogtum	duchy
haben	to have
halb	half
halb drei	half three = 2:30 (time)
halb eins	half one = 12:30 (time)
halb zwei	half two = 1:30 (time)
Halbbauer	small farmer
Halbmeier	small farmer
Halbzeugmacher	semi-finished product maker
Hartung	January
Händler	trader, merchant, peddler
Haupt-	chief, main
Haus	house
Hausfrau	housewife
Häusler	cottager
Hausmädchen	housemaid
Hebamme	midwife
Heilquelle	spa, bath
Heimat	home, native place, homeland
Heimatschein	domicile or residency certificate
Heimatsort	place of birth, home town
Heirat	marriage
heiraten	to marry
Heiratsantrag	marriage intentions
Heiratsbelege	marriage supplements
Heiratskontrakt	marriage contracts
Heiratsprotokolle	marriage records
Heiratsschein	marriage certificate
heißt	is named
Hektar	hectare (10,000 square meters or 2.47 U.S. acres)
Helfer	a helper, but in East Prussia a worker in a malt brewery
Heraldik	heraldry
Herkunftsort	place of origin
Herr	Mister, Lord, lord
Herrschaft	estate, dominion
Herzog	duke
Herzogtum	duchy
Hessische	Hessian
Heuerling	dayworker, hireling
Heuert, Heumonat	July
heute	today
hier	here
hiesig, hiesige, hiesiger, hiesigen	local
hiesiger Ort	this place
Hinterbliebene	survivors
hinterlassen	surviving, left behind
Hirt	herdsman
hitziges Fieber	burning fever, high fever
hoch	high
Hochzeit	wedding
Hof	courtyard, farm, yard, estate
Hofprediger	chaplain
Holländer	Dutchman, dairykeeper
Hornung	February
Hüfner	farmer
Hufschmied	farrier, blacksmith
Hügel	hill
hundert	hundred
Hurenkind	illegitimate child
Husten	cough

Words starting with:		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z

I[edit | edit source]

German	English
ihr, ihr-	their, her
im	in the
im Leben	in life, while living
immer	always
in	in, at
Inhalt	content(s)
innerhalb	inside of
Innung	guild
Instmann	tenant farmer
ist	is
itzo, itzt, itzund, jetzt, jetzo, jetzund	now

Words starting with:		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z

J[edit | edit source]

German	English
Jachtaufe (jach = jäh, plötzlich)	emergency baptism (jach = suddenly)
Jäger	hunter, rifleman in the military
Jahr	year
Jahrestag	anniversary
Jahreszeit	season
Jahrhundert	century
jährlich	annual, yearly
Jahrzehnt	decade
Jänner	January
Januar	January
jeder (jede, jedes)	each, every
Jgfr. = Jungfrau, Jungfer	maiden, virgin, unmarried woman
Joe.	Latin abbreviation for Joannem
jüdisch	Jewish
Jugend	youth, adolescence
Juli	July
Julmonat	December
jung	young
Junge	a youth (male)
Jungfrau, Jungfer	maiden, virgin, unmarried woman
Junggeselle	bachelor
Jüngling	bachelor, young man
Juni	June
Justmann	tenant farmer (East Prussian form of Instmann)

Words starting with:		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z

K[edit | edit source]

German	English
K.K. = kaiserlich königlich	royal imperial
Kaluppe, Kaluppner Bohemian and Polish: Chalupa Polish: chalupnik	A dilapidated house. By extension, a resident of such a house.
Kammerfrau	lady-in-waiting
Kantor	choirmaster, organist
Karpe	carpenter
Karte	map
Karrer	carter
Kartei	card index
Kathenmann, Katenmann	cottager
Käthner, Kätner	cottager
katholisch	Catholic
kaufen	to buy
Kaufmann	merchant
kein	no, not any, none
Keller	wine steward; cellar, basement
Kellner	waiter, receiver of revenues; steward
Kessler	kettlemaker
Keuchhusten	whooping cough
Kiefer	cooper, barrel maker
Kind	baby
Kindbetterin	woman in or shortly after childbirth
Kindbettfieber	childbed fever
Kinder	children
Kirche	church
Kirchenältester	churchwarden, church elder, vestryman
Kirchenbuch	parish register
Kirchengemeinde	parish
Kirchenpfleger	churchwarden
Kirchenrodel	parish register
Kirchensprengel	parish
Kirchenvorsteher	churchwarden
Kirchhöre	church parish
kirchlich	pertaining to church
Kirchrat	member of a church council
Kirchspiel	parish
Kläger(in), Klr.	plaintiff
klein	little
Knabe	boy
Knecht	servant
Köbler (used in Franken and Oberpfalz, Bayern)	cottager
Kolonist	settler, colonist, farmer
Kommunikant	communicant
Kommunion	communion
Konfirmation	confirmation
König	king
königlich	royal
Königreich	kingdom
Kooperator	non-governing clergyman (like a chaplain) assigned to a parish/pastor
Kopulation	marriage
kopulieren	to marry
Kossat, Kossät, Kossath	cottager
Kossattin	female cottager
Kötter, Kötner, Köthner	small farmer, cottager
Krämer	grocer, small retailer
Krämpfe	cramps,, convulsions
Krankheit	disease, sickness
Krebs	cancer
Kreis	county
Krieg	war
Kröger, Krogmann	innkeeper
Küfer	cooper, barrel maker
Kuhhirte	cowherd
Kupferschmied	coppersmith
Kurort	spa
Kusine	female cousin
Kutscher	coachman

Words starting with:		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z

L[edit | edit source]

German	English
Land	land, country
Landarbeiter	farmhand
Landkarte	map
Landwirt	farmer
lassen	to let, leave, allow
lebendig	living
ledig	single, unmarried
legitimiert	made legitimate, legitimized
Lehrer	teacher
Lehrling	apprentice
Leiche	corpse, body
Leichenpredigt	funeral sermon
Leinenweber	linen weaver
Lenz	spring (season)
letzte Ölung	last rites, extreme unction
letzte Salbung	last rites, extreme unction
Letzter	latter, last
letzter Wille	last will
links	left
Lungenentzündung	pneumonia
Lungenschwindsucht	consumption, tuberculosis
lutherisch	Lutheran

Words starting with:		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z

M[edit | edit source]

German	English
Mädchen	girl
Mädel	girl
Magd	maiden, maid, servant girl
Mägdlein	girl, little girl
Mai	May
Maler	painter
Mann	husband, man
männlich	male
Mariengroschen, Mgr.	Mariengroschen (German currency)
Markt	market
März	March
Masern	measles
Matrikel	register
Maurer	mason
Mautner	customs official
Meister, -meister	master
Mennoniten	Mennonites
Metzger	butcher
Meubelfabrakant	furniture manufacturer
Militär	military
minderjährig	underaged, minor
mit	with, via, by
Mitglied	member
Mittag	midday
mittags	at noon
Mitternacht	midnight
Mittwoch	Wednesday
Monat	month
Montag	Monday
Morgen	morning, tomorrow
Morgen (morgen)	measure of land, 0.6 to 0.9 acres
morgens	in the morning
müheseelig Mench	handicapped person
Mühle	mill
Mühlenpächter	mill tenant
Mullnäher	Occupation: cheesecloth (gauze) stitcher (sewer)
mündlich	verbal, verbally
Mutter	Mother

Words starting with:		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z

N[edit | edit source]

German	English
N.N. = nomen nescio	name not known
nach	to, after, according to
Nachbar	neighbor
Nachbarschaft	neighborhood
nachgelassen	surviving
Nachlaß	estate, inheritance
Nachmittag	afternoon
nachmittags	in the afternoon
nächst(e)	next
Nacht	night
Näherin	seamstress
Name	name
nat. = natus, nata	born
natus, nata	born
neben	next to
Nebenfrau	concubine
Neffe	nephew
nemlich	namely, same, by name (variant of nämlich)
Nervenfieber	nervous fever
neu	new
neun	nine
neunte	ninth
neunundzwanzigte	twenty-ninth
neunzehn	nineteen
neunzehnhundert	nineteen hundred
neunzehnte	nineteenth
neunzig	ninety
neunzigste	ninetieth
Nicht	not
Nichte	niece
nichts	nothing
nie	never
nieder	lower
niederländisch	Dutch, of the Netherlands
noch	still
noch lebende	still living
noch nicht	not yet
Nord	north
Notizen	notices, miscellaneous records
Nottaufe	emergency baptism
November	November
Nummer	number
nur	only

Words starting with:		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z

O[edit | edit source]

German	English
O.A. = Oberamt	governing district office
ober	upper, over
ober-, Ober- (comb. form)	chief, head; upper, over
Oberamt	governing district office
oder	or
öffentlich bekanntmachen	make known publicly
oft	often
Oheim	uncle
ohne	without
ohne besonderes Gewerbe	without any particular occupation
Oktober	October
Onkel	uncle
Ort	place, town
Ortslexikon	gazetteer
Osten	east
Ostern	Easter (could be March or April)
Ostermonat	April
Ostern	Easter
Österreich	Austria
österreichisch	Austrian

Words starting with:		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z

P[edit | edit source]

German	English
Pächter	leaseholder
Pate	godfather
Paten	godparents
Patin	godmother
Pest	plague
Pfalz	Palatinate
Pfarramt	parish office
Pfarrbuch	parish register
Pfarrei	parish
Pfarrer	parish minister, pastor
Pfingsten	Pentecost
Pflegekind	foster child
Pflegesohn	foster son
Pflegetochter	foster daughter
Platz	place (location)
Pocken	pox, smallpox
Polen	Poland
polnisch	Polish
Posamentierer	A worker in the art of Posament. Posament is a technique where metal wires or threads are braided and knotted into ornaments and then sewn onto textiles. Braiding and knotting can be used together or separately.
preußisch	Prussia
Priester	priest
Prinz	prince
Prinzessin	princess
protestantisch	Protestant
Provinz	province
provinzial	provincial

Words starting with:		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z

R[edit | edit source]

German	English
Räbbe	rabies
Räcke	stiffness of the limbs
Racker	renderer
Rademacher, Radmacher	wheelwright
Radhauer	wheelwright
Rathaus	city hall
Ratsherr	alderman
Ratsmann	councilman; town councilor
Rechnung	account; bill
rechtgläubig	orthodox
Rechtsanwalt	lawyer
reformiert	reformed
Regierungsbezirk	administrative area (a political jurisdiction)
Register	register (a book or list)
Reich	empire; kingdom
Reifer	ropemaker; rope merchant
Reiter	rider; cavalryman
relicta	widow
relictus	widower
Religion	religion
ren. = renatus, renata	baptized, christened
Rentner	retired person
Rheuma	rheumatism
Richter	judge
Rodel	register
Röseler	whitewasher
Rössler	horseman; tanner
römisch katholisch	Roman Catholic
Röt	measles; bloody diarrhea
Rotgerber	red tanner
Ruhestand	retirement
Ruhr	dysentery
russisch	Russian
Rußland	Russia

Words starting with:		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z

S[edit | edit source]

German	English
S. = Seite	page
s. = siehe	see the following reference
Sachsen	Saxony
Sackhuhn	sailmaker
Säger	sawyer
Salbung	anointing
Salzmesser	a salt weigher
Salzvogt	salt works overseer
Samstag	Saturday
Sarkhauer	stonemason
Satertag	Saturday
Sattler	saddler, leather worker
Schacherer	peddler
Schäfer	shepherd
Schaffer	worker; laborer; administrator
Schäf(f)ler	cooper
Schaffmann	worker
Schaffner	conductor
Schalbelehnter, Schaalbelehnter	one who works with scales, a weigher
Schalck, Schall	servant
Scharlach, Scharlachfieber	scarlet fever
Schänker / Schenker	tavernkeeper; an innkeeper who taps beer or wine
Scharnemann	merchant in a market
Scharrmacher	wagon builder
Scharwerker	day laborer on a farm
Schatter, Schattmann	tax assessor
Schatzmann	moneychanger; treasurer
Schatzmeister	treasurer
Scheibenreisser	glazier
Scheibler	salt carrier
Scheiding	September
Scheidler	knife-blade maker
Scheidung	divorce
Schein	certificate
Schenkungen	donations
Scherer	barber; beardcutter; cloth cutter
Schichtmeister	mine paymaster
Schiffbauer	shipbuilder
Schiffer	shipper; seaman
Schiffmann	sailor
Schiffsmakler	shipbroker; shipping agent
Schilderer	sign painter
Schindeldecker	roofer of shingle roofs
Schindelmacher	shingle maker
Schinner	renderer, skinner
Schirmmacher	umbrella maker
Schirrmacher	wagon maker
Schirrmeister	master wagon maker
Schlachter, Schlächter	butcher
Schlachtmann	butcher
Schlachtwanter	clothing wholesaler
Schlafbaas	innkeeper
Schlaganfall	stroke, seizure
Schlagfluß	stroke
Schlieper	knifemaker; cutler
Schlieter	merchant
Schloß	castle
Schlosser	locksmith
Schlotfeger	chimneysweep
Schlotthauer	locksmith
Schmied	smith
Schneide Müllergeselle	sawmiller’s assistant
Schneider	tailor
Schnitzer, Schnitzler	woodcarver
Schopper	ship’s carpenter
Schornsteinfeger	chimneysweep
Schosserheber	tax collector
Schösser	tax collector
Schotte	peddler
Schottler	turner; key maker
Schottilier	turner; carpenter
Schreiber	scribe, clerk
Schreiner	cabinetmaker, joiner
Schriftsetzer	typesetter
Schroder, Schröder	tailor
Schröer	tailor
Schröter	tailor; carter; driver; cooper
Schubarth, Schuberth, Schubring	shoemaker
Schuchard, Schucherd, Schuchmann, Schuckert	shoemaker
Schuhmacher	shoemaker, cobbler
Schule	school
Schullehrer	schoolteacher
Schultheiß, Schulze	village mayor, head of town council
Schüssler	bowl maker
Schuster	shoemaker, cobbler
Schuwarte	shoemaker
Schwäche	weakness
Schwager	brother-in-law
Schwägerin	sister-in-law
Schwaiger	shepherd
schwanger	pregnant
schwarz	black
schwarzer Tod	black death; plague
Schwarzgiesser	iron smelter
Schwein(e)hirt(h)	pigherd
Schweisser	welder
Schweiz	Switzerland
Schweizer	Swiss; also a dairyman
Schwendimann	settler on recently burned woodland
Schwerdtfeger	armorer
Schwester	sister
Schwiegermutter	mother-in-law
Schwiegersohn	son-in-law
Schwiegertochter	daughter-in-law
Schwiegervater	father-in-law
Schwindsucht	consumption
S.d. = Sohn des, der	son of
sechs	six
sechste	sixth
sechsundzwanzig	twenty-six
sechsundzwanzigste	twenty-sixth
sechzehnhundert	sixteen hundred
sechzehn	sixteen
sechzehnte	sixteenth
sechzig	sixty
sechzigste	sixtieth
See	lake
Seelen	souls
Seelenregister	church membership list
Seelsorger	minister, chaplain
Seemann	sailor
Segner	fisherman
Seifensieder	soap maker
Seigner	fisherman
Seiler	rope maker
sein	to be; his
seit	since
(mütterlicher/väterlicher) Seits	on the (maternal/paternal) side
Seite	page
Seitenstechen	stitch, pain in the side
selige	(the) late, blessed
September	September
Sibber	sieve maker
Sibmacher	sieve maker
sich	himself, herself, itself
sie	she, they
Sie	you
sieben	seven
siebente	seventh
siebenundzwanzigste	twenty-seventh
siebte	seventh
siebzehn	seventeen
siebzehnhundert	seventeen hundred
siebzehnte	seventeenth
siebzig	seventy
siebzigste	seventieth
Sieder	soap maker
Siedler	settler
siehe	see
Sigrist	sexton
sind	are
so	as, so, thus, such
Sohn	son
Söhnlein, Söhnchen	young son
Soldat	soldier
Söldner	mercenary soldier; day laborer
sollen	should
Sonnabend	Saturday
Sonntag	Sunday
spät	late (p.m.)
Spengler	plumber; tinsmith
spur. = spurius, spuria	illegitimate
Staat	state
Staatsangehörigkeit	citizenship, nationality
Staatsarchiv	state archives
Stadt	city
Stammbaum	family tree, pedigree
Stand	occupation, status, condition
Standesamt	civil registrar’s office
starb	died
Steinhauer	stonecutter
Steinmetz	stonemason
stellen	place, put, impose
Stellmacher	wheelwright
Sterbefälle	deaths
sterben	to die
Steuer	tax
Stickfluß	asthma
Stiefbruder	half brother, stepbrother
Stiefkind	stepchild
Stiefmutter	stepmother
Stiefschwester	half sister, stepsister
Stiefvater	stepfather
Stillgeburt	stillbirth
Straße	street
Stunde	hour
Sucht	sickness, mania, rage
Süden	south
S.v. = Sohn von	son of

Words starting with:		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z

T[edit | edit source]

German	English
T.d. = Tochter des, der	daughter of
T.v. = Tochter von	daughter of
Tabelle	index, table
Tag	day
Tagelöhner	day laborer
Tagner	day laborer
Tal, Thal	valley
Tante	aunt
Tapazier	(wall)paper hanger
Tapeten	wallpaper, hangings
Tapezierer	Upholsterer
Tapezierergehilfe	Assistant upholsterer
Tapezierergehilfin	Assistant upholsterer
Tapeziermeister	Master upholsterer
Taufe	baptism
taufen	to baptize
Taufpaten	godparents
Taufschein	baptismal certificate
tausend	thousand
Testament	will
Tischler	cabinetmaker, furniture maker
Tochter	daughter
Töchterchen	young daughter
Töchterlein	young daughter
Tochtermann	son-in-law
Tod	death
Todesart	manner of death
Töpfer	potter
tot	dead
Totengräber	grave digger
totgeboren, todtgeboren	stillborn
Trauung	marriage
Trennung	separation, divorce
tschechisch	Czech
Tschechoslowakai	Czechoslovakia
Tschismenmacher	shoemaker, maker of Hungarian boots
Tuberkulose	tuberculosis
Tuchbereiter	cloth-dresser (cropper)
Tuchmacher	cloth maker, draper
Tumor	tumor

Words starting with:		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z

U[edit | edit source]

über

German	English
u.d. = und des, und der	and of
über	about, concerning, over
überleben	survive
Uhr	o’clock, clock, watch
um	at, about, around, concerning
unbekannt	unknown
und	and
und der	and of
und des	and of
unehelich	illegitimate
ungarisch	Hungarian
Ungarn	Hungary
ungefähr	about, circa, approximately
uns	us
unter	under, lower
Unterleib	abdomen
Unterleibsentzündung	abdominal inflammation, peritonitis
Unterleibstyphus	typhoid fever
Unterleibsverhärtung	abdomenal hardening
Unterrichter	judge
Unterschrieben	signed
Unterschrift	signature
Unterzeichnete	the undersigned
unverheiratet, unverehelicht	unmarried
unzeitiges Kind	premature child
Urenkelkind	great-grandchild
Urgroßmutter	great-grandmother
Urgroßvater	great-grandfather
Urkunde	record, document
Ururgroßmutter	great-great-grandmother
Ururgroßvater	great-great-grandfather
ux. = uxor	wife

Words starting with:		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z

V[edit | edit source]

German	English
Vater	father
verehelicht	married
Verehelichung	marriage
vergangen	past
vergraben	buried
verh. = verheiratet	married
Verkäufer	seller, vendor
verl. = verlobt	engaged
verlebte	deceased
verloben, sich	to become engaged
Verlobte	fiancée
Verlobter	fiancé
Verlobung	betrothal, engagement
Vermieter	landlord, lessor
Vermögen	estate, assets
Verpächter	landlord, lessor
verrichtet	performed
verschiedene	various
versehen	given the last rights, extreme unction (e.g., dates in context of a death record)
Verstopfung	constipation
verstorben	deceased, defunct
Verstorbene	the deceased
Verwaltung	administration
Verwandten	relatives
Verwandtschaft	relationship
verwitwet	widowed
Verzeichnis	register, list, index
Vetter	male cousin
vid. = viduus, vidua	widower, widow
vielleicht	perhaps, maybe
vier	four
vierte	fourth
vierundzwanzigste	twenty-fourth
vierzehn	fourteen
vierzehnte	fourteenth
vierzig	forty
vierzigste	fortieth
Vogt	steward, overseer
Voigt	steward, overseer
Volkszählung	census
volljährig	of age, of legal age
vollzogen	performed
von	of, from, by
vor	before; ago
vorgestern	the day before yesterday
vorherig	previous, preceding
vorheriger Tag	the previous day
vorläufig	for the time being
vormals	formerly
Vormittags	in the morning
Vormund	guardian
Vorname	given name
Vorstadt	suburbs, outskirts of town

Words starting with:		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z

W[edit | edit source]

German	English
Wagner	cartwright
Waise	orphan
Wald	forest, woods
wann	when
Wappen	coat of arms
Wappenkunde	heraldry
war	was
waren	were
warum	why
was	what
Wassersucht	dropsy, edema
Weber	weaver
Weduwe	widow
wegen	because of
Wehmutter	midwife
Weib	wife, woman
weiblich	female
weil. = weiland	deceased
weiland	deceased
Weiland	the deceased
Weiler	hamlet
weiß	white
Weißgerber	tanner
welche	which
Weltpriester	a secular priest
wer	who
werden	to become
West	west
weyland	deceased
wie	how
Wiedertäufer	Anabaptist
Windpocken	chicken pox
Wintermonat	November
Wirt	innkeeper
Wittib	widow
Wittiber	widower
Witwer	widower
wo	where
Woche	week
Wochenbett	childbed
Wöchnerin	woman in childbed
woher	from where
wohnen	to live, residing
Wohnort	place of residence
Wohnplatz	place of residence
Wohnung	domicile, residence
wollen	to want
Wonnemonat	May
Wörterbuch	dictionary
wurde geboren	was born
wurde getauft	was baptized
würdig	worthy
Wwe. = Witwe	widow
Wwer. = Witwer	widower

Words starting with:		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z

X[edit | edit source]

German	English
Xber, Xbris	December

Words starting with:		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z

Z[edit | edit source]

German	English
zählen	to count
Zahnkrämpfe	teething
Zähnen, Zähnung	teething
zehn	ten
Zehnt(en)buch	tithing book
zehnte	tenth
Zehnten	tithes
zehrendes Fieber	consumptive fever
Zehrung	consumption
Zeit	time
Zentner	hundredweight
Zeuge	witness
Ziegler	brick maker
Ziehmutter, -sohn, -tochter	foster mother, son, daughter
Zimmermann	Carpenter
Zivilstandsamt	civil registrar’s office
Zöllner	publican, tax collector
zu Hause	at home
Zukunft	future
Zuname	surname, last name
zusammen	together
zuständig nach, heimatberechtigt in, ansässig in	entitled to reside in/home rights in (a place)
zwanzig	twenty
zwanzigte	twentieth
zwei	two
zweihundert	two hundred
zwei tausend	two thousand
zweite	second
zweiundzwanzigste	twenty-second
Zwilling(e)	twin, twins
zwischen	between
zwölf	twelve
Zwölfer	member of a council
zwölfte	twelfth

Words starting with:		A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z

The purpose of this list is to give a rough idea of the German language. The words listed below are not the most common German words, but a broad sampling of words. See the Word Lists page for more details.

View other word lists here

Old High German
Region	Central Europe
Era	Early Middle Ages
Language family	Indo-European Germanic West Germanic Old High German
Writing system	Runic, Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-2	goh
ISO 639-3	goh
Glottolog	oldh1241
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Old High German (OHG; German: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 500/750 to 1050.
There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High German is an umbrella term for the group of continental West Germanic dialects which underwent the set of consonantal changes called the Second Sound Shift.

At the start of this period, the main dialect areas belonged to largely independent tribal kingdoms, but by 788 the conquests of Charlemagne had brought all OHG dialect areas into a single polity. The period also saw the development of a stable linguistic border between German and Gallo-Romance, later French.

The surviving OHG texts were all written in monastic scriptoria and, as a result, the overwhelming majority of them are religious in nature or, when secular, belong to the Latinate literary culture of Christianity. The earliest written texts in Old High German, glosses and interlinear translations for Latin texts, appear in the latter half of the 8th century. The importance of the church in the production of texts and the extensive missionary activity of the period have left their mark on the OHG vocabulary, with many new loans and new coinages to represent the Latin vocabulary of the church.

OHG largely preserves the synthetic inflectional system inherited from its ancestral Germanic forms, but the end of the period is marked by sound changes which disrupt these patterns of inflection, leading to the more analytic grammar of Middle High German. In syntax, the most important change was the development of new periphrastic tenses to express the future and passive.

Periodisation[edit]

Old High German is generally dated, following Willhelm Scherer, from around 750 to around 1050.^[1][2] The start of this period sees the beginning of the OHG written tradition, at first with only glosses, but with substantial translations and original compositions by the 9th century.^[2] However the fact that the defining feature of Old High German, the Second Sound Shift, may have started as early as the 6th century and is complete by 750, means that some take the 6th century to be the start of the period.^[a] Alternatively, terms such as Voralthochdeutsch («pre-OHG»)^[3] or vorliterarisches Althochdeutsch («pre-literary OHG»)^[4] are sometimes used for the period before 750.^[b] Regardless of terminology, all recognize a distinction between a pre-literary period and the start of a continuous tradition of written texts around the middle of the 8th century.^[5]

Differing approaches are taken, too, to the position of Langobardic. Langobardic is an Elbe Germanic and thus Upper German dialect, and it shows early evidence for the Second Sound Shift. For this reason, some scholars treat Langobardic as part of Old High German,^[6] but with no surviving texts — just individual words and names in Latin texts — and the speakers starting to abandon the language by the 8th century,^[7] others exclude Langobardic from discussion of OHG.^[8] As Heidermanns observes, this exclusion is based solely on the external circumstances of preservation and not on the internal features of the language.^[8]

The end of the period is less controversial. The sound changes reflected in spelling during the 11th century led to the remodelling of the entire system of noun and adjective declensions.^[9] There is also a hundred-year «dearth of continuous texts» after the death of Notker Labeo in 1022.^[5] The mid-11th century is widely accepted as marking the transition to Middle High German.^[10]

Territory[edit]

Old High German comprises the dialects of these groups which underwent the Second Sound Shift during the 6th Century, namely all of Elbe Germanic and most of the Weser-Rhine Germanic dialects.

The Franks in the western part of Francia (Neustria and western Austrasia) gradually adopted Gallo-Romance by the beginning of the OHG period, with the linguistic boundary later stabilised approximately along the course of the Meuse and Moselle in the east, and the northern boundary probably a little further south than the current boundary between French and Dutch.^[11] North of this line, the Franks retained their language, but it was not affected by the Second Sound Shift, which thus separated the Old Dutch varieties from the more easterly Franconian dialects which formed part of Old High German.^[12]

In the south, the Lombards, who had settled in Northern Italy, maintained their dialect until their conquest by Charlemagne in 774. After this the Germanic-speaking population, who were by then almost certainly bilingual, gradually switched to the Romance language of the native population, so that Langobardic had died out by the end of the OHG period.^[7]

At the beginning of the period, no Germanic language was spoken east of a line from Kieler Förde to the rivers Elbe and Saale, earlier Germanic speakers in the Northern part of the area having been displaced by the Slavs. This area did not become German-speaking until the German eastward expansion («Ostkolonisation») of the early 12th century, though there was some attempt at conquest and missionary work under the Ottonians.^[13]

The Alemannic polity was conquered by Clovis I in 496, and in the last twenty years of the 8th century Charlemagne subdued the Saxons, the Frisians, the Bavarians, and the Lombards, bringing all continental Germanic-speaking peoples under Frankish rule. While this led to some degree of Frankish linguistic influence, the language of both the administration and the Church was Latin, and this unification did not therefore lead to any development of a supra-regional variety of Frankish nor a standardized Old High German; the individual dialects retained their identity.

Dialects[edit]

There was no standard or supra-regional variety of Old High German—every text is written in a particular dialect, or in some cases a mixture of dialects. Broadly speaking, the main dialect divisions of Old High German seem to have been similar to those of later periods—they are based on established territorial groupings and the effects of the Second Sound Shift, which have remained influential until the present day. But because the direct evidence for Old High German consists solely of manuscripts produced in a few major ecclesiastical centres, there is no isogloss information of the sort on which modern dialect maps are based. For this reason the dialects may be termed «monastery dialects» (German Klosterdialekte).^[14]

The main dialects, with their bishoprics and monasteries:^[15]

• Central German
  • East Franconian: Fulda, Bamberg, Würzburg
  • Middle Franconian: Trier, Echternach, Cologne
  • Rhine Franconian: Lorsch, Speyer, Worms, Mainz, Frankfurt
  • South Rhine Franconian: Wissembourg
• Upper German
  • Alemannic: Murbach, Reichenau, Sankt Gallen, Strasbourg
  • Bavarian: Freising, Passau, Regensburg, Augsburg, Ebersberg, Wessobrunn, Benediktbeuern, Tegernsee, Salzburg, Mondsee

In addition, there are two poorly attested dialects:

• Thuringian is attested only in four runic inscriptions and some possible glosses.^[16]
• Langobardic was the dialect of the Lombards who invaded Northern Italy in the 6th century, and little evidence of it remains apart from names and individual words in Latin texts, and a few runic inscriptions. It declined after the conquest of the Lombard Kingdom by the Franks in 774. It is classified as Upper German on the basis of evidence of the Second Sound Shift.^[17]

The continued existence of a West Frankish dialect in the Western, Romanized part of Francia is uncertain. Claims that this might have been the language of the Carolingian court or that it is attested in the Ludwigslied, whose presence in a French manuscript suggests bilingualism, are controversial.^[15][16]

Literacy[edit]

Old High German literacy is a product of the monasteries, notably at St. Gallen, Reichenau Island and Fulda. Its origins lie in the establishment of the German church by Saint Boniface in the mid-8th century, and it was further encouraged during the Carolingian Renaissance in the 9th.
The dedication to the preservation of Old High German epic poetry among the scholars of the Carolingian Renaissance was significantly greater than could be suspected from the meagre survivals we have today (less than 200 lines in total between the Hildebrandslied and the Muspilli). Einhard tells how Charlemagne himself ordered that the epic lays should be collected for posterity.^[18] It was the neglect or religious zeal of later generations that led to the loss of these records. Thus, it was Charlemagne’s weak successor, Louis the Pious, who destroyed his father’s collection of epic poetry on account of its pagan content.^[19]

Rabanus Maurus, a student of Alcuin’s and abbot at Fulda from 822, was an important advocate of the cultivation of German literacy. Among his students were Walafrid Strabo and Otfrid of Weissenburg.

Towards the end of the Old High German period, Notker Labeo (d. 1022) was among the greatest stylists in the language, and developed a systematic orthography.^[20]

Writing system[edit]

While there are a few runic inscriptions from the pre-OHG period,^[21] all other OHG texts are written with the Latin alphabet, which, however, was ill-suited for representing some of the sounds of OHG. This led to considerable variations in spelling conventions, as individual scribes and scriptoria had to develop their own solutions to these problems.^[22] Otfrid von Weissenburg, in one of the prefaces to his Evangelienbuch, offers comments on and examples of some of the issues which arise in adapting the Latin alphabet for German: «…sic etiam in multis dictis scriptio est propter litterarum aut congeriem aut incognitam sonoritatem difficilis.» («…so also, in many expressions, spelling is difficult because of the piling up of letters or their unfamiliar sound.»)^[23] The careful orthographies of the OHG Isidor or Notker show a similar awareness.^[22]

Phonology[edit]

The charts show the vowel and consonant systems of the East Franconian dialect in the 9th century. This is the dialect of the monastery of Fulda, and specifically of the Old High German Tatian. Dictionaries and grammars of OHG often use the spellings of the Tatian as a substitute for genuine standardised spellings, and these have the advantage of being recognizably close to the Middle High German forms of words, particularly with respect to the consonants.^[24]

Vowels[edit]

Old High German had six phonemic short vowels and five phonemic long vowels. Both occurred in stressed and unstressed syllables. In addition, there were six diphthongs.^[25]

	front	central	back
short	long	short	long	short	long
close	i	iː		u	uː
mid	e, ɛ	eː		o	oː
open		a	aː
	Diphthongs
	ie		uo
	iu		io
	ei		ou

Notes:

1. Vowel length was indicated in the manuscripts inconsistently (though modern handbooks are consistent). Vowel letter doubling, a circumflex, or an acute accent was generally used to indicate a long vowel.^[26]
2. The short high and mid vowels may have been articulated lower than their long counterparts as in Modern German. This cannot be established from written sources.
3. All back vowels likely had front-vowel allophones as a result of umlaut.^[27] The front-vowel allophones likely became full phonemes in Middle High German. In the Old High German period, there existed [e] (possibly a mid-close vowel) from the umlaut of /a/ and /e/^{[clarification needed]} but it probably was not phonemicized until the end of the period. Manuscripts occasionally distinguish two /e/ sounds. Generally, modern grammars and dictionaries use ⟨ë⟩ for the mid vowel and ⟨e⟩ for the mid-close vowel.

Reduction of unstressed vowels[edit]

By the mid 11th century the many different vowels found in unstressed syllables had almost all been reduced to ⟨e⟩ /ə/.^[28]

Examples:

Old High German	Middle High German	New High German	English
mahhôn	machen	machen	to make, do
taga	tage	Tage	days
demu	dem(e)	dem	to the

(The New High German forms of these words are broadly the same as in Middle High German.)

Consonants[edit]

The main difference between Old High German and the West Germanic dialects from which it developed is that the former underwent the Second Sound Shift. The result of the sound change has been that the consonantal system of German is different from all other West Germanic languages, including English and Low German.

	Bilabial	Labiodental	Dental	Alveolar	Palatal/Velar	Glottal
Plosive	p b			t d	c, k /k/ g /ɡ/
Affricate	pf /p͡f/			z /t͡s/
Nasal	m			n	ng /ŋ/
Fricative		f, v /f/ /v/	th /θ/	s, ȥ /s̠/, /s/	h, ch /x/	h
Approximant	w, uu /w/				j, i /j/
Liquid				r, l

1. There is wide variation in the consonant systems of the Old High German dialects, which arise mainly from the differing extent to which they are affected by the High German Sound Shift. Precise information about the articulation of consonants is impossible to establish.
2. In the plosive and fricative series, if there are two consonants in a cell, the first is fortis and the second lenis. The voicing of lenis consonants varied between dialects.
3. Old High German distinguished long and short consonants. Double-consonant spellings indicate not a preceding short vowel, as they do in Modern German, but true consonant gemination. Double consonants found in Old High German include pp, bb, tt, dd, ck (for /k:/), gg, ff, ss, hh, zz, mm, nn, ll, rr.
4. /θ/ changes to /d/ in all dialects during the 9th century. The status in the Old High German Tatian (c. 830), as is reflected in modern Old High German dictionaries and glossaries, is that th is found in initial position and d in other positions.
5. It is not clear whether Old High German /x/ had acquired a palatalized allophone [ç] after front vowels, as is the case in Modern German.
6. A curly-tailed z (ȥ) is sometimes used in modern grammars and dictionaries to indicate the alveolar fricative that arose from Common Germanic t in the High German consonant shift. That distinguishes it from the alveolar affricate, which represented as z. The distinction has no counterpart in the original manuscripts, except in the Old High German Isidor, which uses tz for the affricate.
7. The original Germanic fricative s was in writing usually clearly distinguished from the younger fricative z that evolved from the High German consonant shift. The sounds of both letters seem not to have merged before the 13th century. Since s later came to be pronounced /ʃ/ before other consonants (as in Stein /ʃtaɪn/, Speer /ʃpeːɐ/, Schmerz /ʃmɛrts/ (original smerz) or the southwestern pronunciation of words like Ast /aʃt/), it seems safe to assume that the actual pronunciation of Germanic s was somewhere between [s] and [ʃ], most likely about [s̠], in all Old High German until late Middle High German. A word like swaz, «whatever», would thus never have been [swas] but rather [s̠was], later (13th century) [ʃwas], [ʃvas].

Phonological developments[edit]

This list has the sound changes that transformed Common West Germanic into Old High German but not the Late OHG changes that affected Middle High German:

• /ɣ/, /β/ > /ɡ/, /b/ in all positions (/ð/ > /d/ already took place in West Germanic. Most but not all High German areas are subject to the change.
  • PG *sibi «sieve» > OHG sib (cf. Old English sife), PG *gestra «yesterday» > OHG gestaron (cf. OE ġeostran, ġ being a fricative /ʝ/ )
• High German consonant shift: Inherited voiceless plosives are lenited into fricatives and affricates, and voiced fricatives are hardened into plosives and in some cases devoiced.
  • Ungeminated post-vocalic /p/, /t/, /k/ spirantize intervocalically to /ff/, /ȥȥ/, /xx/ and elsewhere to /f/, /ȥ/, /x/. Cluster /tr/ is exempt. Compare Old English slǣpan to Old High German slāfan.
  • Word-initially, after a resonant and when geminated, the same consonants affricatized to /pf/, /tȥ/ and /kx/, OE tam: OHG zam.
    • Spread of /k/ > /kx/ is geographically very limited and is not reflected in Modern Standard German.
  • /b/, /d/ and /ɡ/ are devoiced.
    • In Standard German, that applies to /d/ in all positions but to /b/ and /ɡ/ only when they are geminated. PG *brugjo > *bruggo > brucca, but *leugan > leggen.
• /eː/ (*ē²) and /oː/ are diphthongized into /ie/ and /uo/, respectively.
• Proto-Germanic /ai/ became /ei/ except before /r/, /h/, /w/ and word-finally, when it monophthongizes into ê, which is also the reflex of unstressed /ai/.
  • Similarly, /au/ > /ô/ before /r/, /h/ and all dentals; otherwise, /au/ > /ou/. PG *dauþaz «death» > OHG tôd, but *haubudą «head» > houbit.
    • /h/ refers there only to inherited /h/ from PIE *k, not to the result of the consonant shift /x/, which is sometimes written as h.
• /eu/ merges with /iu/ under i-umlaut and u-umlaut but elsewhere is /io/ (earlier /eo/). In Upper German varieties, it also becomes /iu/ before labials and velars.
• /θ/ fortifies to /d/ in all German dialects.
• Initial /w/ and /h/ before another consonant are dropped.

Morphology[edit]

Nouns[edit]

Verbs[edit]

Tense[edit]

Germanic had a simple two-tense system, with forms for a present and preterite. These were inherited by Old High German, but in addition OHG developed three periphrastic tenses: the perfect, pluperfect and future.

The periphrastic past tenses were formed by combining the present or preterite of an auxiliary verb (wësan, habēn) with the past participle. Initially the past participle retained its original function as an adjective and showed case and gender endings — for intransitive verbs the nominative, for transitive verbs the accusative.^[29] For example:

After thie thö argangana warun ahtu taga (Tatian, 7,1)
«When eight days had passed», literally «After that then gone-by were eight days»
Latin: Et postquam consummati sunt dies octo (Luke 2:21)^[30]

phīgboum habeta sum giflanzotan (Tatian 102,2)
«There was a fig tree that some man had planted», literally «Fig-tree had certain (or someone) planted»

Latin: arborem fici habebat quidam plantatam (Luke 13:6)^[31][32]

In time, however, these endings fell out of use and the participle came to be seen no longer as an adjective but as part of the verb, as in Modern German. This development is taken to be arising from a need to render Medieval Latin forms,^[33] but parallels in other Germanic languages (particularly Gothic, where the Biblical texts were translated from Greek, not Latin) raise the possibility that it was an independent development.^[34][35]

Germanic also had no future tense, but again OHG created periphrastic forms, using an auxiliary verb skulan (Modern German sollen) and the infinitive, or werden and the present participle:

Thu scalt beran einan alawaltenden (Otfrid’s Evangelienbuch I, 5,23)
«You shall bear an almighty one»

Inti nu uuirdist thu suigenti’ (Tatian 2,9)
«And now you will start to fall silent»
Latin: Et ecce eris tacens (Luke 1:20)^[36]

The present tense continued to be used alongside these new forms to indicate future time (as it still is in Modern German).

Conjugation[edit]

The following is a sample conjugation of a strong verb, nëman «to take».

nëman

	Indicative	Optative	Imperative
Present	1st sg	nimu	nëme	—
2nd sg	nimis (-ist)	nëmēs (-ēst)	nim
3rd sg	nimit	nëme	—
1st pl	nëmemēs (-ēn)	nëmemēs (-ēn)	nëmamēs, -emēs (-ēn)
2nd pl	nëmet	nëmēt	nëmet
3rd pl	nëmant	nëmēn	—
Past	1st sg	nam	nāmi	—
2nd sg	nāmi	nāmīs (-īst)	—
3rd sg	nam	nāmi	—
1st pl	nāmumēs (-un)	nāmīmēs (-īn)	—
2nd pl	nāmut	nāmīt	—
3rd pl	nāmun	nāmīn	—
Gerund	Genitive	nëmannes
Dative	nëmanne
Participle	Present	nëmanti (-enti)
Past	ginoman

Personal pronouns^[37][edit]

Number	Person	Gender	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Singular	1.		ih	mīn	mir	mih
2.		dū	dīn	dir	dih
3.	Masculine	(h)er	(sīn)	imu, imo	inan, in
Feminine	siu; sī, si	ira, iru	iro	sia
Neuter	iz	es, is	imu, imo	iz
Plural	1.		wir	unsēr	uns	unsih
2.		ir	iuwēr	iu	iuwih
3.	Masculine	sie	iro	im, in	sie
Feminine	sio	iro	im, in	sio
Neuter	siu	iro	im, in	siu

Syntax[edit]

Any description of OHG syntax faces a fundamental problem: texts translated from or based on a Latin original will be syntactically influenced by their source,^[38] while the verse works may show patterns that are determined by the needs of rhyme and metre, or that represent literary archaisms.^[39] Nonetheless, the basic word order rules are broadly those of Modern Standard German.^[40]

Two differences from the modern language are the possibility of omitting a subject pronoun and lack of definite and indefinite articles. Both features are exemplified in the start of the 8th century Alemannic creed from St Gall:^[41] kilaubu in got vater almahticun (Modern German, Ich glaube an Gott den allmächtigen Vater; English «I believe in God the almighty father»).^[42]

By the end of the OHG period, however, use of a subject pronoun has become obligatory, while the definite article has developed from the original demonstrative pronoun (der, diu, daz)^[43] and the numeral ein («one») has come into use as an indefinite article.^[44] These developments are generally seen as mechanisms to compensate for the loss of morphological distinctions which resulted from the weakening of unstressed vowels in the endings of nouns and verbs (see above).^[c][d]

Texts[edit]

The early part of the period saw considerable missionary activity, and by 800 the whole of the Frankish Empire had, in principle, been Christianized. All the manuscripts which contain Old High German texts were written in ecclesiastical scriptoria by scribes whose main task was writing in Latin rather than German. Consequently, the majority of Old High German texts are religious in nature and show strong influence of ecclesiastical Latin on the vocabulary. In fact, most surviving prose texts are translations of Latin originals. Even secular works such as the Hildebrandslied are often preserved only because they were written on spare sheets in religious codices.

The earliest Old High German text is generally taken to be the Abrogans, a Latin–Old High German glossary variously dated between 750 and 780, probably from Reichenau. The 8th century Merseburg Incantations are the only remnant of pre-Christian German literature. The earliest texts not dependent on Latin originals would seem to be the Hildebrandslied and the Wessobrunn Prayer, both recorded in manuscripts of the early 9th century, though the texts are assumed to derive from earlier copies.

The Bavarian Muspilli is the sole survivor of what must have been a vast oral tradition. Other important works are the Evangelienbuch (Gospel harmony) of Otfrid von Weissenburg, the short but splendid Ludwigslied and the 9th century Georgslied. The boundary to Early Middle High German (from c. 1050) is not clear-cut.

An example of Early Middle High German literature is the Annolied.

Example texts[edit]

The Lord’s Prayer is given in four Old High German dialects below. Because these are translations of a liturgical text, they are best not regarded as examples of idiomatic language, but they do show dialect variation very clearly.

Lord’s Prayer

Latin version (From Tatian)[45]	Alemannic, 8th century The St Gall Paternoster[46]	South Rhine Franconian, 9th century Weissenburg Catechism[47]	East Franconian, c. 830 Old High German Tatian[45]	Bavarian, early 9th century Freisinger Paternoster[47]
Pater noster, qui in caelis es, sanctificetur nomen tuum, adveniat regnum tuum, fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo, et in terra, panem nostrum cotidianum da nobis hodie, et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris, et ne inducas nos in temptationem, sed libera nos a malo.	Fater unseer, thu pist in himile, uuihi namun dinan, qhueme rihhi diin, uuerde uuillo diin, so in himile sosa in erdu. prooth unseer emezzihic kip uns hiutu, oblaz uns sculdi unsero, so uuir oblazem uns skuldikem, enti ni unsih firleiti in khorunka, uzzer losi unsih fona ubile.	Fater unsēr, thu in himilom bist, giuuīhit sī namo thīn. quaeme rīchi thīn. uuerdhe uuilleo thīn, sama sō in himile endi in erthu. Brooth unseraz emezzīgaz gib uns hiutu. endi farlāz uns sculdhi unsero, sama sō uuir farlāzzēm scolōm unserēm. endi ni gileidi unsih in costunga. auh arlōsi unsih fona ubile.	Fater unser, thū thār bist in himile, sī geheilagōt thīn namo, queme thīn rīhhi, sī thīn uuillo, sō her in himile ist, sō sī her in erdu, unsar brōt tagalīhhaz gib uns hiutu, inti furlāz uns unsara sculdi sō uuir furlāzemēs unsarēn sculdīgōn, inti ni gileitēst unsih in costunga, ūzouh arlōsi unsih fon ubile.	Fater unser, du pist in himilum. Kauuihit si namo din. Piqhueme rihhi din, Uuesa din uuillo, sama so in himile est, sama in erdu. Pilipi unsraz emizzigaz kip uns eogauuanna. Enti flaz uns unsro sculdi, sama so uuir flazzames unsrem scolom. Enti ni princ unsih in chorunka. Uzzan kaneri unsih fona allem sunton.

See also[edit]

• Old High German literature
• Middle High German
• Old High German declension

Notes[edit]

Citations[edit]

Sources[edit]

Grammars[edit]

Dialects[edit]

External links[edit]

• Althochdeutsche Texte im Internet (8.–10. Jahrhundert) — links to a range of online texts
• Modern English-Old High German dictionary

Vocabulary Old High German

The vocabulary contains 1258 meaning-word pairs («entries»)
corresponding to core LWT meanings from the recipient language
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contains a list of all loanwords arranged by
donor languoid.

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