Schreibtisch

German

From schreiben (“to write”) +‎ Tisch (“table”). Equivalent to Luxembourgish Schreifdësch, Hunsrik Schreibdisch. Both components are ultimately from Latin.

Schreibtisch m (strong, genitive Schreibtisches or Schreibtischs, plural Schreibtische)

desk, cabinet (any table, frame, or case for the use of writers and readers; also a place for storing the papers)

The term schreibtisch was used in 16th and 17th century for cabinets (in german Kabinett or Kabinettschrank). This naming comes from original purpose of cabinets used for writing and storing the papers, so called Bargueño desks). These cabinets were often provided with an openable front panel, used for writing, which hides several drawers for storing the papers or utentils inside. Bargueño desks were copied in other parts of Europe and produced in several forms. Many of them were not even equipped with the writing desk, however the term schreibtisch was used for them.

Declension of Schreibtisch

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Schreibtisch	die	Schreibtische
genitive	eines	des	Schreibtisches, Schreibtischs	der	Schreibtische
dative	einem	dem	Schreibtisch, Schreibtische¹	den	Schreibtischen
accusative	einen	den	Schreibtisch	die	Schreibtische

¹Now rare, see notes.