William Lawrence Sr. Omnibit 9-12-15

3 thoughts on “William Lawrence Sr. Omnibit 9-12-15”

1. Actually, the original meaning of “kneht” meant a servant or a follower, especially in the sense of a man-at-arms in the service of a lord. That’s the meaning retained in English, because that’s what a knight is, a soldier owing allegiance to an overlord.

   The modern form is “Knecht”, which is not used so often in German anymore, except in compound words for servants or staff–we’ll see Fuhrknechte next weekend, for example, in the Trachtenzug at the opening of the Oktoberfest. Those are the teamsters driving the brewery wagons. “Knecht” was also used in the modern era in the sense of “serf” or “slave” in Nazi and Communist propaganda. They both made reference to “Knechtschaft”–servitude or slavery, though they each meant different villainous masters.

   The modern German word for knight, “Ritter”, derives from “reiten”, to ride, and became applied to knights specifically because they were mounted.

   (Studied German for 8 years, lived there for a while, and taught it, so these things rattle around in my head. I still speak, read and write auf gutem deitsch, too.)

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   1. Brad, thank you. Great post.

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   2. Brad, Vas ist los?
      Der hund is los.
      Die katz im keller mit der Burgermeister
      das is vas ist los!

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