Hanswurst

English

Alternative forms

• Hans Wurst

Etymology

Borrowed from German Hanswurst.

Noun

Hanswurst (plural Hanswursts)

1. (theater) A clownlike character popular in German and Austrian plays during the 18th century.
   • 2015, Dorothy Chansky, Ann Folino White, editors, Food and Theatre on the World Stage, Routledge, →ISBN, page 87:

     Hanswurst, on the other hand, gained a specific profile in the early eighteenth century. As he is largely known today, in his brightly colored peasant clothing consisting of the trademark baggy yellow trousers, red suspenders, red jacket, […]

See also

• Harlequin
• Jack Pudding
• Jean Potage
• Macaroni
• Pickelhering

German

Alternative forms

• Hans Wurst

Etymology

Hans +‎ Wurst.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈhansˌvʊʁst], [hansˈvʊʁst]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Hans‧wurst

Noun

Hanswurst m (strong, genitive Hanswurstes, plural Hanswurste or Hanswürste)

1. (theater) Hanswurst, zany (clown-like character in German and Austrian plays)
   • 1796, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, chapter 4, in Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre [Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship]‎^[1], volume 1; republished as Thomas Carlyle, transl., 1824:

     Nunmehr konnte mich der Hanswurst, sosehr er mit seinen Absätzen klapperte, nicht unterhalten.

     Henceforth, Jack-pudding, however he might clatter with his heels, could not any longer entertain me.

2. (by extension, derogatory) fool
   • 1908, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, Ecce Homo‎^[2]:

     Meine Erfahrungen selbst mit Solchen, an denen Jedermann schlechte Erfahrungen macht, sprechen ohne Ausnahme zu deren Gunsten; ich zähme jeden Bär, ich mache die Hanswürste noch sittsam.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Declension

Declension of Hanswurst [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Hanswurst	die	Hanswurste, Hanswürste
genitive	eines	des	Hanswurstes	der	Hanswurste, Hanswürste
dative	einem	dem	Hanswurst, Hanswurste1	den	Hanswursten, Hanswürsten
accusative	einen	den	Hanswurst	die	Hanswurste, Hanswürste

¹Now rare, see notes.

Derived terms

• Hanswursterei
• Hanswurstiade

Descendants

• → English: Hanswurst

Further reading

• “Hanswurst” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.
• “Hanswurst” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “Hanswurst” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Hanswurst” in Duden online
• Hanswurst on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^de