Kraut
Categories: Ethnic slurs | German loanwords
The German word Kraut is a generic term that is often used in compound nouns for cabbage, cabbage products and many herbs:
- Weißkraut = green cabbage
- Blaukraut or Rotkraut = red cabbage
- Sauerkraut
- Rübenkraut = thick sugar beet syrup
- Bohnenkraut = Savory
- Unkraut = Weed
The word is almost never used alone, but the plural form, Kräuter, translates to the English herbs or herbage. For example, Kräutertee is herbal tea .
Use in Slang
In former times, Kraut was used as a colloquial expression for tobacco. Today it's sometimes used for marijuana.
Since World War II, Kraut has, in the English language, come to be used as a semi derogatory term for a German. This is probably based on Sauerkraut, which was very popular in German cuisine at that time. The stereotype of the sauerkraut-eating German dates back to long before this time, though, as can for example be seen in Jules Verne's depiction of the evil German industrialist Schultz as an avid sauerkraut eater in "The Five Hundred Million Of The Begum".
Today, the term Kraut is used with less derogatory overtones, and sometimes with mildly affectionate meaning. The area of continental Europe where sauerkraut is probably the most typical regional dish is Alsace-Lorraine, which has been German for a number of periods in history.
Krautrock is a popularly accepted term for a form of highly experimental German post-Prog Rock of the late 1960s and 1970s. Krautrock was typified by acts such as Amon Duul, Kraftwerk, Neu!, Tangerine Dream, Faust, Can as well as many others.
Under the title "Krauts" J. Corinth described his experiences as a German prisoner of war in North Carolina and as immigrant to California (ISBN 3-935111-14-2).