Kanonenfutter

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German

Etymology

From Kanone (“cannon”) +‎ Futter (“fodder”). Attested in 1796 (see quote below). The formation may have been inspired by English food for powder (Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 1), but this is uncertain. The earliest translations by Wieland (1764), Eschenburg (1779), and Schlegel (1800) all translate the phrase literally as Futter für Pulver. Orlepp’s version (1839) appears to be the first to use Kanonenfutter instead.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kaˈnoːnənˌfʊtɐ/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: Ka‧no‧nen‧fut‧ter

Noun

Kanonenfutter n (strong, genitive Kanonenfutters, no plural)

  1. cannon fodder
    • 1796, C. J. Hochheim, writing as Justus Sincerus Veridicus, Von der Europäischen Republik – Plan zu einem ewigen Frieden‎, Altona, page 49:
      Man wird aufhören, Flotten mit ungeheuren Kosten zu bauen, sie mit Menschen zu füllen und dann in den Ocean zu schicken, um zu versuchen, wer den andern am schnellsten in den Grund bohren kann, und der Mensch wird mehr gelten, als die Taxe des Handgelds, das ihn zum Kanonenfutter erkauft.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Declension

Declension of Kanonenfutter
singular
indef. def. noun
nominative ein das Kanonenfutter
genitive eines des Kanonenfutters
dative einem dem Kanonenfutter
accusative ein das Kanonenfutter

Descendants

  • → English: cannon fodder (calque)

Further reading

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