Transcript of “Weltschmerz”
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Hi, how are you? This is Joe.
Hi, Joe.
I’m coming from North Carolina.
Welcome to the program. What can we do for you?
Well, I used to have this book. It was called The 5,000 Must Words.
It had a lot of interesting words. I wish I could find it. I’ve looked for it everywhere. I can’t find it.
But the word was weltschmerz, I think is how you would say it.
Yeah, yeah. You’re talking about the word weltschmerz, which I think is a really beautiful word.
And you would spell that in English.
You would usually spell it with a capital, W-E-L-T-S-C-H-M-E-R-Z.
And Welchmerz, your understanding of it, I take it, is that you’re sort of world weary, you’re apathetic, something like that?
Yes, sort of, I guess, pensive or is it a sad feeling?
Of it, I can’t quite recall, but I just remember, I just thought it was a beautiful word, and I’ve lost the definition. I agree with you. I think it’s a really beautiful word. It’s a combination of two words that literally mean world pain, and the welt in weltschmerz,
W-e-l-t is cognate with the word world. Both the English word world and welt come from the same root. Something similar happens with the schmerz part, the pain, which kind of sounds like something painful, schmerz. It’s related to the English word smart, you know, like, ouch, that’s smarts.
So Welt Schmerz literally means world pain.
And it was coined by a 19th century German novelist and humorist who wrote under the pen name Jean Paul.
And in 1827, a book was published that he had written called Selina.
And this book was a poetic meditation on love and death and memory and the afterlife.
And he used this word, Weltschmerz, to mean world sorrow made bearable only by contemplating a blessed afterlife.
That was the sense.
Oh, wow.
Why would it be capitalized?
Because German nouns are capitalized.
And it indicates that the word has not been fully Anglicized since we’ve kept some of its German-ness about it.
I suspect the word will never be fully Anglicized because it feels very foreign to English.
Right. Well, that’s amazing.
Yeah, and some people do in English use it with a lowercase w.
And it got picked up later in the 19th century by English speakers because, as you and I agree, I mean, it’s a really handy word.
It’s a really evocative word, and people have used it to mean things like homesickness for a place you’ve never seen.
Or Ralph Ellison, when he wrote Invisible Man, wrote about an old woman singing a spiritual as full of weltschmerz as flamenco.
And one other interesting thing.
I’m so glad you brought up this word, weltschmerz, because, you know, Jean-Paul also coined another word that I bet you know.
Okay.
Any guesses?
Hit me.
Doppelganger.
Oh, that’s a great one.
That’s one of my favorite words.
Yeah, he coined that word in another book, you know, the second self,
That person who’s wandering the world who looks just like you or is just like you.
He’s credited with that word.
I’m going to need to read up.
His stuff.
I’m going to have to see his stuff.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, check him out, Jean-Paul.
Thank you so much.
Yeah, glad you called.
Thanks for calling.
Take care now.
Okay, thanks. You guys have a great day.
You too. Bye-bye.
All right. Bye-bye.
Sure to dispel your weltschmerits.
