Walpurgisnacht

English

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from German Walpurgisnacht.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vɑːlˈpɜːɡɪsnɑːxt/ (or as German, below)

Noun

Walpurgisnacht (uncountable)

1. Walpurgis night, a feast of witchcraft in German folklore; any orgiastic or bacchanalian party.
   • 1942, Rebecca West, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: A Journey Through Yugoslavia, Canongate, published 2006, page 365:

     The proper sequel to the Walpurgisnacht obsequies of Franz Ferdinand would have been the dismissal of Prince Montenuovo...

   • 1969-12-25, Burton H. Wolfe, “Introduction”, in The Satanic Bible, Avon, →OL:

     On the last night of April 1966 — Walpurgisnacht, the most important festival in the lore of magic and witchcraft — LaVey ritualistically shaved his head in accordance with magical tradition and announced the formation of the Church of Satan.

German

Etymology

From Walpurgis +‎ Nacht.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /valˈpʊrɡɪsnaxt/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

Walpurgisnacht f (genitive Walpurgisnacht, plural Walpurgisnächte)

1. Walpurgis night
   • 1808, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, “Nacht”, in Faust: Der Tragödie erster Teil [Faust, Part One]‎^[1]:

     Mir ist’s ganz tugendlich dabey, / Ein Bißchen Diebsgelüst, ein Bißchen Rammeley. / So spukt mir schon durch alle Glieder / Die herrliche Walpurgisnacht.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Declension

Declension of Walpurgisnacht [feminine]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Walpurgisnacht	die	Walpurgisnächte
genitive	einer	der	Walpurgisnacht	der	Walpurgisnächte
dative	einer	der	Walpurgisnacht	den	Walpurgisnächten
accusative	eine	die	Walpurgisnacht	die	Walpurgisnächte

Descendants

• → English: Walpurgisnacht, → Walpurgis night (calque)

Further reading

• “Walpurgisnacht” in Duden online
• “Walpurgisnacht” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• Walpurgisnacht on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^de

Portuguese

Noun

Walpurgisnacht m or f (uncountable)

1. Walpurgis night (a feast of witchcraft in German folklore)

   Synonyms: noite de Walpurgis, noite de santa Valburga