Where does “Schmierentheater” come from?

Schmierentheater (German) comes from German Schmiere, from German schmieren, from Middle High German smirn, from Middle High German smirwen, from Old High German smirwen, from Proto-West Germanic *smirwijan, from Proto-Germanic smirwijaną, from Proto-Germanic -janą — he, she.

Schmierentheater (German): second-rate theater, farce

Definitions

  1. second-rate theater, farce

Ancestry of “Schmierentheater”, step by step

Schmierentheater traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German Schmiere

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanSchmieregrease; goo, gunk; smear
2Germanschmierento smear; to butter; to grease, oil, lubricate
3Middle High Germansmirn
4Middle High Germansmirwen
5Old High Germansmirwen
6Proto-West Germanic*smirwijanto smear
7Proto-Germanicsmirwijanąto smear, anoint
8Proto-Germanic-janąDerives denominatives from nouns and factitives...
9Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
10Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-
11Chichewaiyehe, she

via German Theater

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanTheatertheater; theatrical company, troupe, theater...
2Frenchthéâtretheatre; a movie theater
3Middle Frenchthéâtre
4Old FrenchtheatreAlternative form of teatre
5LatintheātrumA theatre or theater, playhouse; stage
6Ancient Greekθέατρονtheatre, gathering place; play, spectacle
7Ancient Greek-τρονForms instrument nouns
8Proto-Hellenic-tronForms instrument nouns from verb stems
9Proto-Indo-European-tromForms nouns denoting a tool or instrument
10Proto-Indo-European-tḗrDerives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone...
Every word from Chichewa iye
Schmierentheater — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer