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weltschmerz

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Welt⋅schmerz

  [velt-shmerts]
–noun German.
sorrow that one feels and accepts as one's necessary portion in life; sentimental pessimism.
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Origin:
lit., world-pain
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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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).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

weltschmerz 
"pessimism about life," 1875, from Ger. Weltschmerz, coined 1810 by Jean Paul Richter, from Welt "world" + Schmerz "pain." Popularized in Ger. by Heine.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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