Alpdruck
German edit
Alternative forms edit
- Albdruck (recommended by the Duden, but less common)
Etymology edit
Alp + Druck, because nightmares were formerly thought to be caused by an elf sitting on one's chest while one slept.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
Alpdruck m (strong, genitive Alpdruckes or Alpdrucks, plural Alpdrücke)
- nightmare
- Synonyms: Albtraum, Alpdrücken
- 1911, Lily Braun, chapter 4, in Memoiren einer Sozialistin [Memoirs of a Socialist][1], Kampfjahre, München: Albert Langen:
- Ich lächelte, von einem Alpdruck befreit; so viele Worte um solch eine Kleinigkeit!
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Declension edit
Declension of Alpdruck [masculine, strong]