English

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Etymology

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From Werther +‎ -ism.

Noun

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Wertherism (uncountable)

  1. The kind of sentimentality depicted in The Sorrows of Young Werther (German: Die Leiden des jungen Werthers), an epistolary and loosely autobiographical novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, first published in 1774, with a theme of heartbreak leading to suicide.