Heimat

== German == === Alternative forms === Heimath (obsolete) === Etymology === First attested in the 11th century. From Middle High German heimuote, heimüete, from Old High German heimōti, heimuoti, from Proto-West Germanic *haimōdī (“homeland”). Compare Bavarian Hoamat, Silesian East Central German Heemte. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈhaɪ̯ma(ː)t/ Hyphenation: Hei‧mat === Noun === Heimat f (genitive Heimat, plural Heimaten) (of a person) home, home town, homeland, native land 1918, Elisabeth von Heyking, Die Orgelpfeifen, in: Zwei Erzählungen, Phillipp Reclam jun. Verlag, page 13–14: (figurative, of things) home; homeland; place where something originated or where it is deep-rooted Synonyms: Ursprungsland, Heimatland ==== Usage notes ==== Heimat is often considered a particularly German concept, because it does not have perfect semantic equivalents in many European languages (including English). Heimat refers to a place towards which one has a strong feeling of belonging, and (usually) a deep-rooted fondness. Most commonly this is one's native region, but it may also be that where one has lived for long, where one has grown up, where one's family are, or where one feels at home for whatever reason. Heimat may be the whole of one's native country, but more often it is a relatively narrow region (typically with its particular traditions, landscape, dialect, and so on). Even if it refers to a country, it is always defined exclusively by a person's emotional ties with it, and is therefore quite different from the French patrie. ==== Declension ==== ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== heim Heim heimisch ==== Descendants ==== → Silesian: hajmat → Slovincian: hejmota === Further reading === Heimat on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia de “Heimat” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache “Heimat” in Duden online “Heimat” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961. Friedrich Kluge (1883), “Heimat”, in John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891