Etymology Explorer › German

Where does “Schadenfreude” come from?

Schadenfreude (German) comes from German Freude, from Middle High German vröude, from Old High German frewida, from Proto-Germanic frawiþō, from Proto-Germanic frawaz, from Proto-Indo-European prew- — to jump.

Schadenfreude (German): malicious enjoyment derived from observing...

Definitions

  1. malicious enjoyment derived from observing...

Ancestry of “Schadenfreude”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanFreudejoy, happiness
2Middle High Germanvröude—
3Old High Germanfrewida—
4Proto-Germanicfrawiþōjoy
5Proto-Germanicfrawazhappy; energetic
6Proto-Indo-Europeanprew-to jump

Words derived from “Schadenfreude”

  • schadenfreude
  • schadenfreudian
  • schadenfreuder
  • Schadenfreude
  • シャーデンフロイデ
  • skadefryd
  • skadefryd
Every word from Proto-Indo-European prew- →