see|Ersatz
was wotd|2006|October|12
English
Etymology
From the German Ersatz, a "replacement"; and from the German verb ersetzen, "to replace".
Pronunciation
IPA|/���sæts/ italbrac|RP
IPA|/��sæts/ italbrac|US
audio|en-us-ersatz.ogg|Audio (US)
Adjective
en-adj
- Made in imitation; artificial, especially of an inferior quality.
#: Back then, we could only get ersatz coffee.
Synonyms
artificial, faux, imitation, knock off
Quotations
1929, "Zeppelining," Time, 16 Sep.,
:Ersatzgas, Ersatzpfennige. Ersatz has become a brave word in Germany. As a substantive it means War Reparations. As part of compounded words it means substitute.
2001, The New Yorker, 15 Oct,
:The avant-garde's opposite number, in Greenberg's scheme, is kitsch, "ersatz culture"�art for capitalism's new man (who turns out to be no different from Fascism's or Communism's new man).
2003, The New Yorker, 17 & 24 Feb,
2004, The New Yorker, 31 May,
Noun
en-noun|ersatz|es
- rfquote-sense Something made in imitation; an effigy or substitute.
Synonyms
imitation, knock off
Translations
Finnish: korvike
References
R:Dictionary.com
"ersatz" in Encarta® World English Dictionary [North American Edition] © & (P)2007 Microsoft Corporation.
"ersatz" in the Wordsmyth Dictionary-Thesaurus © Wordsmyth 2002.
"ersatz" in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press 2007.
"ersatz" in Compact Oxford English Dictionary, © Oxford University Press, 2007.
de:ersatz
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