Weihnachtsmann

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German

Etymology

From Weihnachten (“Christmas”) +‎ Mann (“man”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈvaɪ̯.naxtsˌman/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: Weih‧nachts‧mann

Noun

Weihnachtsmann m (strong, genitive Weihnachtsmannes or Weihnachtsmanns, plural Weihnachtsmänner)

  1. Santa Claus, Father Christmas
  2. (derogatory, colloquial) a fool, a stupid, naive and/or ridiculous person
    • 1996, Ralf Ogorreck, Die Einsatzgruppen und die Genesis der Endlösung, Berlin: Metropol, quoting Heinrich Himmler in July 1941, page 176f.:
      Nur wenige Tage später sah Himmler sich veranlaßt, den Ortskommandanten in Grodno als einen „schönen Weihnachtsmann“ zu titulieren, nachdem dieser die Juden in der Stadt „als ganz friedfertige Leute“ beschrieben hatte [...].
      Only a few days later Himmler felt compelled to dub the town commandant of Grodno a “right moron”, after the latter had described the Jews in this locality as “entirely peaceful folk” .

Usage notes

  • Some German-speakers view the Weihnachtsmann as a non-native, Anglo-Saxon figure, sometimes even with a certain resentment. This feeling is met with particularly in those regions where children traditionally receive their Christmas presents from the Christkind.

Declension

Declension of Weihnachtsmann
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein der Weihnachtsmann die Weihnachtsmänner
genitive eines des Weihnachtsmannes, Weihnachtsmanns der Weihnachtsmänner
dative einem dem Weihnachtsmann, Weihnachtsmanne1 den Weihnachtsmännern
accusative einen den Weihnachtsmann die Weihnachtsmänner

1Now rare, see notes.

Further reading

Wikious
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Sagapedia