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weltschmerz - 3 dictionary results

Welt⋅schmerz

[velt-shmerts]
–noun German.
sorrow that one feels and accepts as one's necessary portion in life; sentimental pessimism.
Also, weltschmerz.


Origin:
lit., world-pain
Welt·schmerz   (vělt'shměrts')   
n.  Sadness over the evils of the world, especially as an expression of romantic pessimism.

[German : Welt, world; see Weltanschauung + Schmerz, pain (from Middle High German smërze, from Old High German smerzo).]

weltschmerz 
"pessimism about life," 1875, from Ger. Weltschmerz, coined 1810 by Jean Paul Richter, from Welt "world" + Schmerz "pain." Popularized in Ger. by Heine.
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