Meditations — Page 5

Vocabulary

ein

Indefinite article or numeral meaning 'a' or 'one'

fähiger

Capable, competent, skilled person or officer

Hauptmann

Captain; military officer of mid-level rank

der

Definite article 'the'; also relative pronoun 'who'

sich

Reflexive pronoun meaning 'himself,' 'herself,' 'itself'

in

Preposition meaning 'in' or 'into'

den

Definite article 'the' in accusative/dative case

Ruhm

Glory, fame, renown earned through achievement

erworben

Acquired, earned, gained through effort or merit

hatte

Past tense of 'haben'; had

war

Past tense of 'sein'; was

zu

Preposition meaning 'to,' 'at,' or 'too'

dieser

Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'this' or 'this one'

Zeit

Time, period, era, or moment

östlichen

Eastern; relating to the east direction or region

Provinzen

Provinces; administrative regions of a larger territory

Durch

Preposition meaning 'through,' 'by means of'

welche

Which, what; interrogative or relative pronoun

Mittel

Means, resources, methods used to achieve something

auch

Also, too, as well; additive particle

immer

Always, ever; indicating continuity or universality

veranlasst

Prompted, caused, induced someone to do something

er

Personal pronoun meaning 'he'

Plan

Plan, scheme, intention conceived in advance

gefasst

Conceived, formed, resolved upon a plan or decision

selbst

Himself, itself; emphasizing pronoun or reflexive particle

zum

Contraction of 'zu dem'; to the

Kaiser

Emperor; supreme ruler of an empire

auszurufen

To proclaim, to declare officially, to call out

sobald

As soon as; conjunction indicating immediate sequence

damals

At that time, back then, in those days

bei

Preposition meaning 'at,' 'near,' 'with,' or 'during'

schwacher

Weak, frail; adjective describing poor health or strength

Gesundheit

Health; physical and mental well-being of a person

sterben

To die; to cease living

würde

Would; subjunctive or conditional form of 'werden'

und

Conjunction meaning 'and'

als

When, as, than; temporal or comparative conjunction

ihm

Dative form of 'er'; to him

die

Definite article 'the'; also relative/demonstrative pronoun

Nachricht

News, message, piece of information received

überbracht

Delivered, conveyed, brought a message to someone

wurde

Past passive auxiliary; was (done), became

dass

Conjunction meaning 'that'; introduces subordinate clause

tot

Dead; no longer alive

sei

Subjunctive form of 'sein'; be, were, is (reported)

handelte

Acted, proceeded, took action in a situation

so

So, thus, in such a way

wie

How, as, like; comparative or manner conjunction

es

Personal pronoun meaning 'it'

geplant

Planned, intended, arranged in advance

schloss

Closed, concluded, shut; past tense of 'schließen'

Anhörung

Hearing, listening session; formal opportunity to be heard

sofort

Immediately, at once, without delay

einen

Indefinite article 'a/an' in accusative masculine case

Frieden

Peace; absence of war or conflict

kehrte

Returned, turned back; past tense of 'kehren'

nach

Preposition meaning 'after,' 'to,' or 'according to'

Hause

Home; dative form used in 'nach Hause' (homeward)

zurück

Back; separable prefix indicating return movement

um

In order to; preposition or conjunction of purpose

neuen

New; adjective in inflected form meaning 'new'

Gefahr

Danger, threat, risk of harm or injury

begegnen

To meet, to face, to encounter someone or something

Der

Definite article 'the' in nominative masculine case

große

Great, large; adjective describing size or significance

Kummer

Grief, sorrow, distress felt deeply by someone

des

Genitive definite article meaning 'of the'

Kaisers

Of the emperor; genitive form of 'Kaiser'

zwangsläufig

Inevitably, necessarily, as an unavoidable consequence

Schrecken

Terror, horror, fright caused by a threatening situation

Bürgerkrieges

Of the civil war; armed conflict within one nation

einlassen

To let in, to get involved with something undesirable

musste

Had to; past tense of modal verb 'müssen'

Er

Personal pronoun meaning 'he'

lobte

Praised, commended; past tense of 'loben'

Eigenschaften

Qualities, characteristics, traits of a person or thing

äußerte

Expressed, voiced, stated; past tense of 'äußern'

aufrichtigen

Sincere, genuine, heartfelt; honest in intention or feeling

Wunsch

Wish, desire, hope for something to happen

nicht

Not; negation particle in German sentences

dazu

To it, for it, in addition; directional adverb

getrieben

Driven, compelled, forced into a course of action

werden

To become; auxiliary for future or passive constructions

möge

May, might; subjunctive of 'mögen' expressing wish

Schaden

Damage, harm, injury inflicted on someone or something

zuzufügen

To inflict, to cause harm or damage to someone

bevor

Before; temporal conjunction indicating prior event

Gelegenheit

Opportunity, occasion, chance to do something

haben

To have; auxiliary verb and main verb of possession

sollte

Should, was supposed to; past subjunctive of 'sollen'

eine

Indefinite article 'a/an' in feminine nominative case

freie

Free, unrestricted, open; adjective inflected form

Begnadigung

Pardon, clemency, formal forgiveness granted to someone

gewähren

To grant, to allow, to bestow something upon someone

Aber

But, however; coordinating conjunction showing contrast

Osten

East; cardinal direction or eastern region

kommen

To come, to arrive, to move toward a place

konnte

Could; past tense of modal verb 'können'

gelangt

Reached, arrived at; past participle of 'gelangen'

noch

Still, yet, even; adverb indicating continuation or addition

lebte

Lived; past tense of 'leben'

seine

His; possessive pronoun in nominative or accusative form

Anhänger

Followers, supporters, adherents of a person or cause

fielen

Fell; past tense plural of 'fallen'

von

Preposition meaning 'from,' 'of,' or 'by'

ab

Off, away; separable prefix indicating departure or defection

ermordet

Murdered, assassinated; killed deliberately and unlawfully

begab

Went, betook himself; past tense of 'sich begeben'

nun

Now, then; temporal adverb indicating current moment

während

While, during; temporal preposition or conjunction

dort

There; adverb indicating a specific location

brachten

Brought; past tense plural of 'bringen'

Mörder

Murderer, killer; person who commits murder

Kopf

Head; the upper part of the human body

aber

But, however; coordinating conjunction showing contrast

wies

Rejected, pointed away; past tense of 'weisen'

ihr

Their, her; possessive pronoun or dative of 'sie'

Geschenk

Gift, present given to someone on an occasion

empört

Outraged, indignant, deeply offended by something

ließ

Let, allowed, had something done; past of 'lassen'

Männer

Men; plural of 'Mann,' adult male persons

vor

Before, in front of; preposition of position or time

Auf

On, upon; preposition indicating surface or direction

Reise

Journey, trip, travel to a destination

starb

Died; past tense of 'sterben'

Frau

Woman, wife, Mrs.; adult female person or spouse

Bei

Preposition meaning 'at,' 'near,' 'upon,' 'with'

seiner

His; genitive or dative form of possessive 'sein'

Rückkehr

Return, homecoming; the act of coming back

feierte

Celebrated; past tense of 'feiern'

Triumph

Triumph; Roman victory celebration or great success

Unmittelbar

Immediately, directly, without anything in between

darauf

Thereafter, after that; adverb indicating subsequent event

Deutschland

Germany; country in central Europe (here archaic usage)

nahm

Took; past tense of 'nehmen'

erneut

Again, once more, anew; adverb of repetition

Last

Burden, load, weight carried or endured

Krieges

Of the war; genitive form of 'Krieg'

auf

On, up, open; preposition or separable verbal prefix