Word of the Day : October 3, 2018

weltschmerz \VELT-shmairts\ noun

Definition

1 often capitalized Weltschmerz : mental depression or apathy caused by comparison of the actual state of the world with an ideal state

2 often capitalized Weltschmerz : a mood of sentimental sadness

Did You Know?

The word weltschmerz initially came into being as a by-product of the European Romanticism movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. A combining of the German words for "world" (Welt) and "pain" (Schmerz), weltschmerz aptly captures the melancholy and pessimism that often characterized the artistic expressions of the era. The term was used in German by the Romantic author Jean Paul (pseudonym of Johann Paul Friedrich Richter) in his 1827 novel Selina, but it wasn't adopted into English until the middle of the 19th century.

Aired October 3, 2018

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