Vergeltung

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German

 Vergeltung on German Wikipedia

Etymology

From vergelten (“to requite, reciprocate”) +‎ -ung.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fərˈɡɛltʊŋ/, /fɛr-/, ,
  • Audio:(file)

Noun

Vergeltung f (genitive Vergeltung, plural Vergeltungen)

  1. requital; reciprocation; payback (the act of treating someone according to how they treated someone else)
    1. (especially) retribution; retaliation (requital for a bad deed)
    2. (less often) reward; recompense (requital for a good deed)

Usage notes

  • Vergeltung (in the negative sense) is distinct from Rache (“revenge”) in that there is an element of objective justice (rather than just personal, emotional justice), i.e. the requital is seen as a socially and morally justified means of punishment and restraint. German does not have the additional, somewhat vague distinction between “retribution” and “retaliation” (with the latter being, in English, a medium between retribution and revenge).

Declension

Declension of Vergeltung
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative eine die Vergeltung die Vergeltungen
genitive einer der Vergeltung der Vergeltungen
dative einer der Vergeltung den Vergeltungen
accusative eine die Vergeltung die Vergeltungen

Further reading

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia