Untermensch
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Unadapted borrowing from German Untermensch.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
Untermensch (plural Untermenschen)
- (derogatory, especially Nazism) An inferior person; a subhuman, especially in Nazi racial hierarchy.
- Antonym: Übermensch
- 2009, John Sadler, Glencoe, Amberley, published 2009, page 19:
- His orders are clear and concise – the Scots are viewed as untermenschen and are to be treated accordingly.
German edit
Etymology edit
18th century, from unter- (“under, sub”) + Mensch (“human being”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
Untermensch m (weak, genitive Untermenschen, plural Untermenschen)
- (derogatory, now proscribed, dated) a subhuman, a morally or culturally inferior person
- Synonyms: (morally) Unmensch, Bestie, (culturally) Barbar, Primitivling, Neandertaler
- (post-Nietzschean philosophy) one who is not an Übermensch
- (Nazism) a racially or otherwise genetically inferior person (who accordingly deserves to be persecuted, enslaved, or exterminated)
- Antonym: Herrenmensch
- Auch Berufsverbrecher und Alkoholiker wurden zu den Untermenschen gezählt, da man diese Erscheinungen genetisch erklärte.
- Career criminals and alcoholics were also counted among the untermenschen, because these phenomena were explained genetically.
Declension edit
Declension of Untermensch [masculine, weak]
singular | plural | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
indef. | def. | noun | def. | noun | |
nominative | ein | der | Untermensch | die | Untermenschen |
genitive | eines | des | Untermenschen | der | Untermenschen |
dative | einem | dem | Untermenschen | den | Untermenschen |
accusative | einen | den | Untermenschen | die | Untermenschen |
Derived terms edit
Further reading edit
- “Untermensch” in Duden online