Geschmack

German

Etymology

From Old High German gismac, gismah, smac from Proto-Germanic *smakkuz, from Proto-Indo-European *smeg- (“taste”). Cognate with Dutch smaak, English smack, smatch, Swedish smak, Danish smag.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ɡəˈʃmak/
  • Audio(file)
  • Rhymes: -ak

Noun

Geschmack m (genitive Geschmackes, plural Geschmäcker or Geschmäcke)

  1. taste
    • 1918, Elisabeth von Heyking, Die Orgelpfeifen, in: Zwei Erzählungen, Phillipp Reclam jun. Verlag, page 19:
      Die eigenen Zimmer hatten sich die Enkel nach persönlichem Geschmack eingerichtet.
      The grandchildren had furnished their own rooms according to their personal taste.
  2. flavour
  3. (Switzerland) smell, odor

Usage notes
  • The normal plural is Geschmäcker. The form is still labelled as colloquial in some dictionaries, but has in fact become predominant in all registers since the 1980s. The older form Geschmäcke is now quite rare.

Declension
Declension of Geschmack
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein der Geschmack die Geschmäcker
genitive eines des Geschmackes,
Geschmacks		 der Geschmäcker
dative einem dem Geschmack,
Geschmacke1		 den Geschmäckern
accusative einen den Geschmack die Geschmäcker
1Now uncommon, see notes
Declension of Geschmack
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein der Geschmack die Geschmäcke
genitive eines des Geschmackes,
Geschmacks		 der Geschmäcke
dative einem dem Geschmack,
Geschmacke1		 den Geschmäcken
accusative einen den Geschmack die Geschmäcke
1Now uncommon, see notes

Derived terms

Further reading
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