Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. See protolanguage.
Wiktionary
- n. A proto-language.
Etymologies
- German, from ur- + Sprache ("language"). (Wiktionary)
- German : ur-, original (from Middle High German, out of, from Old High German; see ud- in Indo-European roots) + Sprache, language, speech (from Middle High German sprāche, from Old High German sprāhha). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Katharine ( "Kerry") Close won the 2006 Scripps National Spelling Bee by correctly spelling the German word "Ursprache.”
“S. O'BRIEN: How do you get to "Ursprache," because that's at the end?”
“As inspired by Ursprache, here's a wonderful idea for a performance/conceptual poetry project that, if I had time, I'd actually want to do:”
“M. O'BRIEN: Boy, I like the way you said that, Ursprache.”
“Chomsky is the man who, with the publication of a single set of lecture notes in 1957, transformed the study of language from an old-fashioned habit of collecting and comparing different languages—sometimes looking for an Ursprache, a mythic mother tongue from which all languages are descended—to the very cutting edge of cognitive psychology.”
“It seems only natural that once an original language, or Ursprache, was posited, the next step was to speculate on its source, or Urheimat.”
“KATHARINE CLOSE, SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE WINNER: Ursprache.”
“As translators, we are picky about our spelling and writing skills, so I always enjoy watching the kids spell words like autochthonous, Ursprache and – last year’s winning word – guerdon.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘Ursprache’.
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Tricky Words from German
Loanwords from German -- some established, some wet behind the ears -- that are difficult to spell, pronounce, or remember.
Torschlusspanik, Fräulein, weltanschauung, Weltschmerz, sprachgefühl, schadenfreude, katzenjammer, Radfahrer, gemütlich, zeitgeist, gesellschaft, gemeinschaft and 48 more...
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The Collection
A somewhat discriminatory list of words and phrases collected for their euphonic or arcane appeal, interesting etymology, or concise definition of an otherwise unnamed phenomenon or concept.
ziggurat, neophilia, sucker punch, soporific, epoch, tundra, fiat, idiotproof, miscellany, metaphysics, cryptozoology, dysphoria and 850 more...
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richardr's Words
marmoreal, osteology, tyromancy, metalepsis, idioglossia, tapinosis, epicaricacy, carromancy, rogation, senex, aulic, gemütlichkeit and 279 more...
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rememberers
prolix, ageusia, animadversion, anodyne, antic, arabesque, beadle, brachymetropia, colophon, desquamation, diaphoresis, diegesis and 3250 more...
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Loanwords - Lehnwörter
List of German words in the English language, not necessarily with the same meaning. For times you want to sound über-smart.
foosball, witzelsucht, zeitgeist, wunderkind, shlep, angst, Götterdämmerung, hinterland, ersatz, gestalt, schnauzer, Weltschmerz and 34 more...
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German
doppelgänger, schadenfreude, hassenpfeffer, bildungsroman, blitzkrieg, schwarmerei, Weltanschauung, Sturm und Drang, wisenheimer, Sitzfleisch, ersatz, Zeitgeist and 29 more...
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Scripps National Spelling Bee Winners
Since 1925.
gladiolus, cerise, luxuriance, albumen, asceticism, fracas, foulard, knack, torsion, deteriorating, intelligible, interning and 73 more...
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On Language
Tweets
Looking for tweets for Ursprache.
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