What is the meaning of Ungeziefer?

What is the meaning of Ungeziefer?

noun. vermin [noun] undesirable or troublesome pests such as fleas, rats, or mice.

How do you pronounce Ungeziefer?

Pronunciation

  1. IPA: /ˈʊnɡəˌt͡siːfɐ/, /ˈʊŋɡə-/
  2. Audio. (file)

What does the word Ungeziefer suggest etymologically?

Ungeziefer comes from the Middle High German ungezibere, a negation of the Old High German zebar (related to the Old English ti’ber), meaning “sacrifice” or “sacrificial animal.” An ungezibere, then, is an unclean animal unfit for sacrifice, and Ungeziefer describes the class of nasty creepy-crawly things.

Where was metamorphosis first published?

Leipzig
The Metamorphosis (German: Die Verwandlung) is an allegorical novella written by Franz Kafka which was first published in 1915….The Metamorphosis.

Front cover of a 1916 edition
Author Franz Kafka
Country Austria-Hungary (now the Czech Republic)
Language German
Publisher Kurt Wolff Verlag, Leipzig

Is Gregor Samsa a cockroach?

The opening sentence of The Metamorphosis has become one of the most famous in Western literature: “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.” (Although Samsa has sometimes been described as a cockroach, the German word Ungeziefer does not refer …

Why is Gregor a cockroach?

Gregor Samsa is transformed into a giant insect because he has already transformed, mentally and emotionally, into such an insect. Gregor works as a traveling salesman, and it seems that work is literally the only thing he does, just like an insect.

Did Gregor really turn into a bug?

Despite his complete physical transformation into an insect at the beginning of the story, Gregor changes very little as a character over the course of The Metamorphosis. Most notably, both as a man and as an insect Gregor patiently accepts the hardships he faces without complaint.

Is Gregor really a bug?

What is the plural meaning of the word Ungeziefer?

Ungeziefer n (genitive Ungeziefers, plural ) (uncountable) vermin; pests; restricted to small animals, usually insects or spiders, sometimes also mice, etc.

Why was the word Ungeziefer rarely attested in medieval texts?

The word is rarely attested in medieval texts due to suppression of words reminiscent of heathen practices, but must have survived in lower registers. Der Küchenschrank saß voller Motten und dieses Ungeziefer war in alle Dosen und Tüten eingedrungen.

Why was the Third Reich called the Ungeziefer?

In the Third Reich, calling Jews “Ungeziefer” was part of the dehumanizing propaganda war against them. Theoretically, that could make for a strenuous religious association, but even then, the intention was clearly to portrait them as vermin. Thanks for contributing an answer to German Language Stack Exchange!