Nearby Words

schadenfreude

[shahd-n-froi-duh] Origin

scha·den·freu·de

[shahd-n-froi-duh]
noun
satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune.

Origin:
1890–95; < German, equivalent to Schaden harm + Freude joy
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Schadenfreude is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
Collins
World English Dictionary
Schadenfreude (ˈʃaːdənfrɔydə)
 
n
delight in another's misfortune
 
[German: from Schaden harm + Freude joy]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

schadenfreude
"malicious joy in the misfortunes of others," 1922, from Ger., lit. "damage-joy," from schaden "damage, harm, injury" (see scathe) + freude, from O.H.G. frewida "joy," from fro "happy," lit. "hopping for joy," from P.Gmc. *frawa- (see frolic).
EXPAND
"What a fearful thing is it that any language should have a word expressive of the pleasure which men feel at the calamities of others; for the existence of the word bears testimony to the existence of the thing. And yet in more than one such a word is found. ... In the Greek epikhairekakia, in the German, 'Schadenfreude.' " [Richard C. Trench, "On the Study of Words," 1852]
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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