German Word of the Day
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German Word of the Day: Der Schmetterling
The Local Austria - [email protected]
Published: 27 Sep, 2018 CET.
Updated: Fri 25 Aug 2023 10:43 CET
Despite the notorious Youtube video, this word is particularly beautiful (and German sounding).
The German translation for ‘butterfly’ is, I must concede, rather less delicate than its English, Spanish (mariposa), or French (papillon) counterparts, as one rather infamous YouTube video suggests.
But Schmetterling has an interesting etymology. It derives from the east central German word schmetten, meaning ‘cream’, with the diminutive suffix -ling. It was believed that witches metamorphosed into butterflies to steal cream and other dairy products. Examples:
Es gibt ungefähr 20,000 Arten von Schmetterlingen weltweit.
There are about 20,000 species of butterfly around the world.
Der Schmetterling ist das Lieblingstier meiner Tochter.
Butterflies are my daughter’s favourite animal.
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The German translation for ‘butterfly’ is, I must concede, rather less delicate than its English, Spanish (mariposa), or French (papillon) counterparts, as one rather infamous YouTube video suggests.
But Schmetterling has an interesting etymology. It derives from the east central German word schmetten, meaning ‘cream’, with the diminutive suffix -ling. It was believed that witches metamorphosed into butterflies to steal cream and other dairy products. Examples:
Es gibt ungefähr 20,000 Arten von Schmetterlingen weltweit.
There are about 20,000 species of butterfly around the world.
Der Schmetterling ist das Lieblingstier meiner Tochter.
Butterflies are my daughter’s favourite animal.
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