Schöngeist

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German

FWOTD – 7 January 2022

Etymology

Calque of French bel esprit, schön +‎ Geist.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈʃøːnˌɡaɪ̯st/
  • Audio:(file)

Noun

Schöngeist m (strong, genitive Schöngeistes or Schöngeists, plural Schöngeister)

  1. (sometimes derogatory) aesthete, belletrist (someone who cultivates a high sensitivity to beauty, particularly in the arts)
    Synonym: Belletrist
    • 1918, Heinrich Mann, Der Untertan‎, Leipzig: Kurt Wolff Verlag, page 86; republished as Ernest Boyd, transl., The Patrioteer, 1921:
      Diederich erinnerte sich, daß auf der Schule Bucks deutsche Aufsätze, die zu geistreich waren, ihm ein unerklärtes, aber tiefes Mißtrauen eingegeben hatten. „Stimmt,“ dachte er, „so ist er geblieben. Ein Schöngeist. Die ganze Familie ist so.“
      Diederich remembered that in school Buck's German compositions had aroused in him a deep, if inexplicable, mistrust; they were too clever. “That's it,” he thought, “he has remained the same, an intellectual, and so is the whole family.”

Declension

Declension of Schöngeist
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein der Schöngeist die Schöngeister
genitive eines des Schöngeistes, Schöngeists der Schöngeister
dative einem dem Schöngeist, Schöngeiste1 den Schöngeistern
accusative einen den Schöngeist die Schöngeister

1Now rare, see notes.

Derived terms

Further reading

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