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kaputt

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Pronunciation

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Adjective

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kaputt (not comparable)

  1. Alternative spelling of kaput

French

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Borrowed from German kaputt, itself from French capot.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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kaputt (invariable)

  1. kaput, out of order
  2. dead

German

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Etymology

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17th century, from French être capot (“not having won any trick in a card game”, as in German schwarz sein). The further origin is uncertain, though it probably stems from a figurative usage of capot (hood); Pfeiffer suggests an image of "a hood pulled over one's head and face" > "restrained and unable to perform actions" (DWDS). Compare Dutch kapot.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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kaputt (strong nominative masculine singular kaputter, comparative kaputter, superlative am kaputtesten)

  1. (slightly informal) destroyed, broken, out of order
    Synonyms: (out of order) defekt, außer Betrieb, außer Funktion, funktionsunfähig, (broken apart) entzwei, zerbrochen, zerrissen
    Das Auto ist kaputt.The car is broken.
  2. (colloquial) tired, exhausted

Usage notes

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  • The main sense has become normal in most registers, including literary and media language, but it is still usually avoided in officialese and other highly formal contexts.

Declension

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Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • Afrikaans: kapoet
  • English: kaput
  • French: kaputt
  • Russian: капут (kaput)

Further reading

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Italian

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Etymology

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Unadapted borrowing from German kaputt.

Adjective

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kaputt (invariable)

  1. kaput

Norwegian Bokmål

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Etymology

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From French être capot, via German kaputt.

Adjective

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kaputt (indeclinable)

  1. kaput

References

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Norwegian Nynorsk

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Etymology

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From French être capot, via German kaputt.

Adjective

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kaputt (indeclinable)

  1. kaput

References

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Plautdietsch

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Adjective

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kaputt

  1. out of order, broken, kaputt

Swedish

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Adjective

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kaputt (not comparable)

  1. (colloquial) kaput (broken)

Usage notes

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Uninflected.

References

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