Clumsy
Tollpatsch (masculine: the clumsy) is a loan word from Hungarian (Hungarism) and a slang term for a clumsy person.
The word was borrowed in the 17th century from the Hungarian talpas ([ ˈtɒl.pɒʃ ] "footed, broad-footed", to talp "sole") and in the 17th and 18th centuries denoted in the forms Tobatz, Tolpatsch, Talpatsch, Dolpatsch, Dalpatsch (with plural -s : the clumsy ) first of all, as in French talpache , a Hungarian foot soldier , according to a common explanation, especially because Hungarian infantrymen were said to have worn wide soles fastened with laces instead of sturdy shoes. In Austrian the word then became a mockery for a soldier of Hungarian or Slavic origin who speaks an incomprehensible language.
Through folk etymological reinterpretation, the word with similar sounding great (“crazy”), booby (“clumsy, stupid person”) or Talp (“booby”) and slap (“ clumsy or loud”, but also “slap loudly, slap the ears) associated with cracking the whip ”,“ chattering ”), the meaning of the word was expanded to become the name commonly used today for a person who behaves clumsily or clumsily.
The spelling variant with a double "l" ( clumsy ) that was occasionally used in the 18th century, for example in Gleim , was not permitted after the spelling reform of 1901 , became the only permitted spelling due to the reform of German spelling in 1996 at the instigation of Gerhard Augst .
In film and theater , comic roles are often referred to as "clumsy". A well-known example are the roles of the French actor and comedian Pierre Richard .
On April 25, 2008, “Clumsy” won the “Words with a Migration Background. The best immigrated word ”from the Goethe Institute was awarded first place.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Freshly awarded: The Best Immigrant Word , accessed on June 11, 2011.
