Hello everyone,
and welcome to our German Word of the Day, this time with a nice, quick look at the meaning of
die Rüstung
Looks German, but it also looks vaguely familiar. Like, if were to see it in a book and we had no dictionary nearby, we could well venture a guess.
First, we remove the eyeliner (aka. umlaut) we’d get Rustung.
And if we then replace -ung with -ing, because despite all their differences the two endings are somewhat related, we’d get rusting. My bike’s favorite pastime.
So… did we hit jackpot? Is it the right meaning?
Absolutely not, of course.
Rusting is totally NOT what Rüstung means.
But in a weird way rusting does kind of relate to Rüstung and it can be a really nice mnemonic.
Because at least the most iconic type of Rüstung, the one that the knights used to wear in medieval times – that was prone to some serious rusting ;).
You might have guessed it – die Rüstung is the German word for armor.
- Die Rüstung eines Ritters war sehr schwer.
- The armor of a knight was very heavy.
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
- Was ist die beste Rüstung für einen Magier in Elden Ring?
- What’s the best armor for a mage in Elden Ring?
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
Now, back a few hundred years, Rüstung was indeed mostly used for the stuff you wear to protect your body in battle.
But with the advent of modern warfare, the word shifted a bit and took on a more general sense of armament and it’s even used in the same sense as arms.
- Rüstungsexporte müssen oft von der Regierung genehmigt werden.
- Arms exports often have to be authorized by the government.
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
- Die Einhörner haben im letzten Jahr so viel für Rüstung ausgeben, wie die Eichhörnchen in den letzten 10 Jahren zusammen.
- The unicorns spent as much money on armament/arms in the last year as squirrels spent in the last 10 years combined.
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
It’s important to note, though, that this ONLY works in these formal, very generic contexts.
So you can’t use the word Rüstung for a specific set of weapons. The word there would be Waffe(n) and using Rüstung would be really confusing because the first association in most people’s minds is probably still the knight in shining armor.
Or rusting armor. That was more likely probably :).
Cool.
So now we know what Rüstung means, but what makes the word really interesting is of course its family.
The family of “Rüstung”
The origin is the disappointingly ancient Indo-European root *krā(u)- which was about layering, covering.
And the only English members of this family I could find (and I actually had to dig a little for this one) are the words around crypt.
Like cryptic, which has focused in the idea of hidden, secret. Or crypto which has recently shifted its focus back toward the idea of
working at McDonalds.
“Bruh, that hurt.”
Seriously though, the German verb rüsten , before focusing on putting on layers of metal as armor, had a more general sense of equipping, to get ready. So it could also be about putting on layers of festive clothing for a celebration, for example.
And this broader idea of getting ready is actually still alive in sich (Accusative) rüsten which is about getting ready for some kind of challenge, be it emotionally or with some equipment.
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2 proofreading suggestions & 1 question
First sentence “The family of “Rüstung” covers a surprisingly large and divers range of context, from war, over gear to construction work and playgrounds”
DIVERSE instead of divers
Would also remove a comma and rephrase last half: “…of contexts: from war to gear to construction work…”
“Or crypto which has recently focused back more toward the idea of working at McDonalds.”
Solid joke but a bit hard to pick up on unless someones really tuned into recent crypto finance headlines
I think there’s still a better way to phrase this than my attempt but “focused back more towards” is really unwieldy phrasing in english so perhaps: Or crypto, which as of late is more likely to bring to mind someone working at McDonalds
Question:
Is Cookie used exclusively to mean edible in German or can Cookie mean just a normal non-mind-altering cookie?
Thanks for the corrections :)!!
“Cookie” usually is a normal cookie, in German. We don’t have a separate word for “edible”, at least as far as I know, and “Cookie” is a common choice, but you need the context to make that clear. Or people might say “space cookie” to clarify.
Could you please go into all the differences between Plätchen, Kekse, Cookies, Tortchen, and various other combos of fat and carbs with minimal/none nutritional redeeming features that we love to consume in huge quantities? It’s important to know how to ask for the right one. Und was ist mit Mohren im Hemd?
Also, in Manuel’s defence, the crypto/McDonald’s joke is really not that obscure. But it is very funny. Some obscurity is needed for a joke to be funny.
Your explanation of entrüsten, “bursting out of your clothes with rage”, reminds me of a phrase used occasionally in American English, although perhaps not British English, when someone is becoming upset or impatient: “Keep your pants on!”. So of course, I always picture in my head someone being so pissed off that they rip their pants off and throw them on the ground. Not sure what that would accomplish, though.
Hah, yeah, it probably does vent some anger for a second but then you’re not exactly in a position where people take you more seriously :)
I’ve also heard this (a lot more commonly) as “keep your shirt on!”
Wollte gerade dasselbe erwähnen als viele andere schon…dass die Beispiele mich einfach zum Lachen gebracht haben! Danke dir.
Super, das freut mich :)!
Deine Beispeile sind ganz lustig! LOL viele seite.
Freut mich, Spaß ist wichtig!!
Your example sentence about the yacht is the funniest thing I have heard since my last blond joke. Thanks! You made my day.
Hello
Ich hoffe, ich bin für die Typo-corrections gut gerüstet.
pass-time (pastime)
most peoples mind’s (most people‘s minds)
put ON the armor instead of taking it of? (put ON the armor instead of taking it off?)
old–fashioned
meaning of die Rüstung and it’s family (its family)
Good visuals for mind yoga.
Looooove the eyeliner for umlauts!!
Bis bald!
I actually made an ad for this a few years ago :)
Vielleicht ist sie damit geboren…
Sieht so aus, ja. Die Power von teurem Make-Up.
Ich habe eine Frage . Warum in dieses Gesetz benutz du die Endung Er ?
Maria rüstet sich für ein weiteres Meeting voller Gejammer vom Projektleiter.
Das kollektive Nomen Gejammer ist neutral, denn es muss “volles Gejammer ” sein . Oder ?
Danke im Voraus.
“voller” ist hier eine Präposition, also immer gleich, egal was für ein Nomen danach kommt.
Herzlichen Dank ! Ich wüsste nicht die Voller als präposition. Das zeigt wie das Deutsche ist voller/ voll von Schwierigkeiten .Ahmad
Sehr gut verwendet!!
Aber:
In case anyone else is interested in medieval armor, just wanted to leave a link to one of my favorite Youtube channels. He does reenactments and answers some questions about what it’s like to wear plate armor. The part I linked to lasts about a minute.
(Oh, and happy belated birthday!)
Vielen Dank!!
It looks like “grotto” and “grotesque” also come from the same root (both related to “crypt”).
Old English had some words that went in the direction of “armor, ornament, adorn,” but they died out a long time ago. An example: when Beowulf died, his funeral pyre was covered with all sorts of hyrsta – armor and jewels. The “h” would have been pronounced kind of like the “ch” in “Buch.” So not so so different from “Rüstung.”
Just checked and yes, German sources also mention “die Grotte” as a relative to Crypt and Gruft.
And hyrsta…. yeah, that’s DEFINITELY got to be a relative!!
A long shot but do you think there is any connection to the English “rouse”….to waken, get angry, to inflame…. indirectly, to bring together, galvanise?
Hmm, I’d lean toward no.
I checked on Etymonline, and while the origin of rouse is not entirely clear, there is no mention of any German relative or relation to crypt or any of the words in the family.
That said, you can totally use it as a memory bridge. Etymology for learners is mainly a tool that helps remember, so anything that does that is fair game :).
xx
It was so fun to read and I feel like I’m so enlightened, because I’ve never seen these words before. Vielen Dank!
Ich habe noch nicht Elden Ring gespielt – es sieht total geil aus. Ich habe aber letzen Winter “Witcher 3” zwei mal durchgezockt und ich muss an “a rusty Nilfgaardian sword” denken, wenn du “mnenomic” erwähnt hat. Dies werde ich als Mnemonik benutzen.Es schient, als ob Konsolespielen doch bei Deutschlernen helfen kann. Momentan spiele ich “Death Stranding”. Vielleicht wenn ich mit es durch bin, fange ich mit Elden Ring an. Es kommt aber darauf an, ob Black Myth: Wukong zu dieser Zeit veröffentlicht ist. Das sieht auch geil aus.
Ich spiele im Prinzip nie Computer. Das einzige, was ich ab und zu noch zocke ist Warcraft 3, den alten Built.
Aber sonst, wenn ich Bock habe, gucke ich let’s plays. Das reicht mir an Gaming, sonst bin ich einfach zu viel vor dem Bildschirm :)
Das kann ich verstanden. Als ich Erwachsener war, hatte ich keine Spielkonsole aber ich hatte ständig bei Freunden von mir gezockt. Dann zwischen 20 und 40 habe ich bis zum letzten Winter fast nie gezockt. Dann hat ein Freund von mir letze November mir seine alte Playstation verliehen, ansonsten hätte ich mir nie so ein Ding kaufen werden. Denn ich hat angst , dass ich beim zocken viele Zeit verbringen würde. Meine Meinung Nach hat sich seit dann ein bisschen geändert. Ich würde sagen, das Zocken für den Berlin-Winter sehr gut geeignet ist. Ich bin nicht so der Klubmensch wie früher und Zocken passt zu der Zeit , wenn mann ein bisschen müde ist und kann sich nicht mehr gut konzentrieren, aber mann will auch nicht einfach einschlafen bei einem Film oder so.
It is kind of crazy what a range the Rüstung / rüsten family has…
Just a couple of comments – first, I don’t usually bother about English typos, but there was a little German one at the beginning:
For “Klettergerüst,” I’m not sure how regional/American this is, but I know it as a jungle gym. (Although I’m pretty sure my kids don’t know any English term for it…)
Also, I don’t know how common it is, but there’s also zurüsten, which I’ve mostly heard and used in the context of “equipping” someone figuratively to be able to do a task or fill a role.
I don’t think I’ve ever consciously read “zurüsten” but I would indeed understand it as “adding additional capacity/equipment”.
A did a image search for “climbing frame” and for “monkey bars” and the former matched what I was looking for.
But I’m curious to see what part of the English speaking world uses which term. “jungle gym” seems really random to me. Like… who came up with that and why?
I’ve heard “jungle gym” used in media from the States but it’s definitely something that wouldn’t get used in British English.
“Jungle gym” is pretty familiar to me from my youth (in Australia), so it’s been in reasonably widespread use in these parts for quite some time now ;-) I’d guess the name comes from jumping around on the thing in a manner similar to a chimpanzee among the forest. ie, like the sort of gym you’d have if you lived in the jungle (aber aus Stahl). We certainly used to do a lot of swinging from/on/around and clambering over the metal bars provided by the jungle gyms in the schoolyards.
I’m in Canada and familiar with “jungle gym” but our language is typically very Americanized. I looked it up and found that it was originally a trademarked name that turned into a generic term. There is actually a junglegym.de website where the company sells, among other things Klettergerüste
Id be really surprised if an american DIDNT know what a jungle gym is. ‘Playground’ and ‘jungle gym’ are often used synonymously though id say playground is a slightly more expansive term (can include several types of equipment to play on) while a jungle gym is just…a jungle gym. Playground is probably used much more often but an american will totally understand what a jungle gym is.
Monkey bars is a specific type of equipment you’d find on the playground – metal bars attached to a frame off the ground so you can swing from bar to bar (like a monkey) without ever touching the ground, i have distinctly different mental images of jungle gym vs monkey bars
Yeah, same here on “jungle gym” vs. “monkey bars.” And FWIW, when you Google “climbing frame” or search it on Amazon, a lot of listings will have both that term and “jungle gym.”