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Halbwissen. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
Halbwissen, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
Halbwissen in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
Halbwissen you have here. The definition of the word
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German
Etymology
From halb (“half”) + Wissen (“knowledge”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈhalpˌvɪsn̩/
- Hyphenation: Halb‧wis‧sen
Noun
Halbwissen n (strong, genitive Halbwissens, no plural)
- (deprecative) superficial knowledge, especially that of an autodidact who overestimates their own proficiency
1856, Heinrich von Gagern, Das Leben des Generals Friedrich von Gagern, page 61:Ich höre sagen, daß oberflächliches Halbwissen schadet und irreleitet; ich höre behaupten, daß ein solches encyklopädisches Halbwissen besonders durch eine Rechtszeitung begünstigt werde, die uns aus dem Zusammenhange größerer Theorien nur Bruchstücke liefern könne.- I hear it said that superficial half-knowledge is harmful and misleading; I hear it claimed that such an encyclopedic half-knowledge is particularly favored by a legal newspaper, which can provide us only fragments from the context of larger theories.
Declension
Derived terms
Further reading