German word of the day: Der Wellenbrecher
Originally used in coastal protection, the term has taken on a powerful new meaning over the course of the pandemic - so much so that it's just become the German Language Society's Word of the Year for 2021.
Since the first cases were discovered in Germany in March 2020, the Covid pandemic has shaken our lives, bringing with it a whole new way of being. Limiting time with friends, working from home, coat pockets stuffed with spare medical masks – all of these things have become part of the ‘new normal’.
As we attempt to describe our experience of the post-pandemic world, a fantastically colourful range of words has entered the German language, describing everything from the ongoing anxiety to the idiosyncratic mask-wearer who prefers to leave their nose peeping out for some fresh air (often called a Maskenmuffel)
So it’s no wonder that, of more than 1,200 new words that have entered the language since the pandemic began, yet another Covid neologism was chosen by the German Language Society as this year’s Word of the Year.
Wellenbrecher, which translates into ‘wave breaker’ or ‘breakwater’ in English, refers to a form of sea-barrier designed to protect the coastline from erosion and minimise the force of aggressive waves hitting the shore.
https://www.thelocal.de/20211203/german-word-of-the-day-der-wellenbrecher/
