sprachgefühl

noun

sprach·​ge·​fühl ˈshpräḵ-gə-ˌfᵫl 

1

: the character of a language

2

: an intuitive sense of what is linguistically appropriate

Did you know?

Sprachgefühl was borrowed into English from German at the end of the 19th century and combines two German nouns, Sprache, meaning "language, speech," and Gefühl, meaning "feeling." (Nouns are capitalized in German, and you'll occasionally see sprachgefühl capitalized in English too.) We're quite certain that the quality of sprachgefühl is common among our readers, but the word itself is rare, making only occasional appearances in our language.

Word History

Etymology

German, from Sprache language + Gefühl feeling

First Known Use

1894, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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