Kraut

See also: kraut

English

Alternative forms

• kraut

Etymology

From German Kraut (“cabbage”), alluding to the use of cabbage as an ingredient in German cuisine (namely sauerkraut). First use appears c. 1833-1837, but popularized during the First and Second World Wars.^[1][2]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɹaʊt/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /kɹʌʊt/
• Rhymes: -aʊt

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

Kraut (plural Krauts)

1. (ethnic slur, offensive, derogatory, slang) A German. [from 1841]

   Synonyms: Boche, Fritz, jerry, Hun, sauerkraut

   Coordinate terms: frog, rosbif

   • 1991, Art Spiegelman, Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began, New York: Pantheon Books, page 112:

     Those Krauts can't hurt you anymore. The only ones left are dead or dying.

Derived terms

• krautish
• kraut land
• krautland
• Krautland
• krautrock
• Krautwagon

 

Translations

derogatory: German — see also Fritz

Finnish: saku (fi), sakemanni (fi), niksmanni German: Kraut (de) m, Krautfresser m, Krautfresserin f Italian: crucco (it) m, crucca f Polish: szwab (pl) m, szwabka f, szkop (pl) m

German — see German

References

1. Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “kraut”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
2. “Kraut”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Anagrams

• Kartu, kurta

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kʁaʊ̯t/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

Etymology 1

Inherited from Middle High German krūt, from Old High German krūt, chrūt, from Proto-West Germanic *krūd (“plant, vegetable, herb”).

Noun

Kraut n (strong, genitive Krautes or Krauts, plural Kräuter, diminutive Kräutchen n or Kräutlein n)

1. (countable) herb; useful plant (plant used to flavour food, or for medicinal effect)
2. (countable, botany) herbaceous plant
3. (uncountable, regional, Southern Germany, Austria) cabbage (vegetable)

   Synonym: Kohl

4. (uncountable, regional, western Germany) a thick syrup made from sugar beets or, less often, fruit

Usage notes

• The sense “cabbage” is found in northern and central Germany only in the words Krautsalat and Sauerkraut, but not otherwise.

Declension

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Kraut	die	Kräuter
genitive	eines	des	Krautes, Krauts	der	Kräuter
dative	einem	dem	Kraut, Kraute1	den	Kräutern
accusative	ein	das	Kraut	die	Kräuter

Declension of Kraut [neuter, strong]

¹Now rare, see notes.

Hyponyms

• Beikraut
• Bohnenkraut
• Brennkraut
• Eisenkraut
• Farnkraut
• Ferkelkraut
• Fingerkraut
• Füllkraut
• Gewürzkraut
• Heidekraut
• Heilkraut
• Johanniskraut
• Leimkraut
• Rübenkraut
• Sauerkraut
• Scharbockskraut
• Schaumkraut
• Seifenkraut
• Suppenkraut
• Tausendgüldenkraut
• Uferkraut
• Unkraut
• Wiesenkraut
• Wildkraut
• Würzkraut

 

Derived terms

• krautartig
• krautig

 

Related terms

• ins Kraut schießen
• Kraut und Rüben
• Kräuterbitter
• Kräuterbutter
• Kräuteressig
• Kräutergarten
• Kräuterheilkunde
• Kräuterkäse
• Kräuterkissen
• Kräuterlikör
• Kräutersammler
• Kräutersoße
• Kräutertee
• Krautrock
• Krautroulade
• Krautsalat
• Krautwickel

 

Etymology 2

From English Kraut (“German”), mostly via American films and books about World Wars I and II. The English term is from German sauerkraut, due to the British and American perception of sauerkraut as a stereotypically German dish.

Noun

Kraut m (strong, genitive Krauts, plural Krauts)

1. (slang, derogatory, offensive) a German (from an Anglo-Saxon perspective)

   Synonym: Fritz

Further reading

• “Kraut” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Kraut” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.
• “Kraut (Deutscher)” in Duden online
• “Kraut (Meeresfrucht)” in Duden online
• “Kraut (Pflanze, Kohl)” in Duden online

Hunsrik

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kraʊ̯t/

Noun

Kraut n (plural Kreiter, diminutive Kreitche)

1. herb

Derived terms

• Krachkraut

Noun

Kraut n

1. cabbage

Derived terms

• Krautstock

Further reading

• Piter Kehoma Boll (2021) “Kraut”, in Dicionário Hunsriqueano Riograndense–Português (in Portuguese), 3rd edition, Ivoti: Riograndenser Hunsrickisch, page 97

Luxembourgish

Etymology

Inherited from Old High German krūt, from Proto-West Germanic *krūd.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kræu̯t/, [kʀæˑʊ̯t]

Noun

Kraut n (plural Kraider, diminutive Kraidchen)

1. herb, plant

Further reading

• Kraut in the Lëtzebuerger Online Dictionnaire