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Medieval words that we still use today (without realising it)

Words such as ‘debt’, ‘school’ or ‘bill’ sound familiar – yet they date back to the Middle Ages. How many such terms are still part of our everyday language?

About 30 min read by Sandra
BL Produkte GmbH

Every day we use dozens of words that are older than most of Europe’s cathedrals. We talk about debt, pay our bills, send our children to school and go home – without realising that virtually every one of these words dates back to the Middle Ages. This article explores which medieval words have survived in our everyday language to this day and how their meanings have changed over the centuries.

Key insights

  • Our everyday lives are full of medieval influences: Words such as ‘Burg’, ‘Schuld’, ‘Zahl’, ‘Handwerk’ and ‘Lohn’ have been firmly established in the German lexicon for around 700 to 1,000 years – with verifiable evidence in historical documents and literary sources.
  • The form has often remained remarkably stable: many of these words have hardly changed in their basic structure. Middle High German ‘kint’ became ‘Kind’, ‘burc’ became ‘Burg’, and ‘reht’ became ‘Recht’. The letters changed, but the core remained the same.
  • Their meanings, on the other hand, often changed significantly: in Old High German, ‘Arbeit’ still meant ‘suffering and hardship’; ‘Schuld’ originally referred to any kind of duty; and a ‘Gericht’ was the place where judgement was passed – not a dish to eat.
  • Traces of the Middle Ages can be found everywhere: from surnames such as Schmidt or Müller, through place names ending in -burg, -heim or -dorf, to idioms and dialects – the Middle Ages live on in the German language.
  • This article provides concrete evidence: for each word, Old High German or Middle High German forms are cited, along with—where reliably documented—the years of attestation and sources such as the *Sachsenspiegel* or the *Middle High German Dictionary*.

Introduction: Just how medieval is our language today?

Imagine a perfectly ordinary scene: someone talks about their work on the farm, reports on the market, mentions their debt to the bank and then goes home to put their child to bed. It sounds completely normal – and yet practically every key word in this sentence originates from the Middle Ages. Some are even well over 1,000 years old.

When we speak of medieval words, we mean terms that are already attested in writing in Old High German (c. 750 to 1050) or Middle High German (c. 1050 to 1350). Over the centuries, these words have become so deeply ingrained in everyday language that hardly anyone today is aware of their historical background.

The German language can be broadly divided into four major stages:

  • Old High German (c. 750 to 1050) – the earliest documented form
  • Middle High German (c. 1050 to 1350) – the language of the minnesingers and chivalric epics
  • Early New High German (c. 1350 to 1650) – Luther’s translation of the Bible falls within this period
  • Modern High German (from around 1650) – our standard language today

The astonishing thing is that many basic words in our everyday language have become so taken for granted that their historical age is hardly noticeable. We use them whilst shopping, at the office and at the dinner table without giving their origins a second thought. This article deliberately focuses on words that are still actively used today – not on purely archaic terms that can now only be found in dictionaries.

How can you recognise a medieval word?

The most reliable way to determine a word’s origin is through historical dictionaries. The Middle High German Dictionary is being compiled at the University of Trier and covers the vocabulary of Middle High German texts from the period 1050 to 1350; its online portal, together with other historical reference works – including the dictionary by Benecke, Müller and Zarncke and the Lexer – brings together around 90,000 Middle High German headwords. The Grimm Brothers’ German Dictionary also provides comprehensive etymologies dating back to Old High German. Anyone consulting the Duden will find, in many entries, information on the word’s origin marked with abbreviations such as ‘ahd.’ or ‘mhd.’ – a sure sign of medieval roots.

There are a few general clues that point to an old word:

  • Simple sound structure: Short, monosyllabic words such as ‘Haus’, ‘Hand’ or ‘Mund’ are likely to be ancient.
  • Fundamental areas of life: Words relating to the body, nature, kinship and crafts are particularly stable, as the things they describe hardly change.
  • Typical sound changes: In Middle High German, a ‘v’ often stood for ‘f’ or an ‘ou’ for ‘au’: ‘vrouwe’ became ‘Frau’, ‘brût’ became ‘Braut’.

These old spellings may seem strange at first, but once you develop an eye for them, you’ll quickly recognise the modern word behind them. Of course, etymology is sometimes uncertain – linguists have been debating the exact origin of some words for decades. This article therefore focuses on well-documented cases where the medieval origin is considered certain.

Words from the world of knights and castles

A medieval illustration featuring symbols representing the human body, nature, family and crafts as the origins of modern-day words

The courtly culture of the High Middle Ages in the 12th and 13th centuries left a deep mark on the language. French had a strong influence on chivalry and courtly life, yet many of the key words associated with this way of life are of genuinely Germanic origin.

‘Ritter’ (Middle High German ‘ritter’) originally referred to a mounted warrior – someone who went into battle on horseback. Today, we encounter the word in metaphors: the ‘white knight’ in business German, the ‘knight of the Round Table’ in literature, or simply as a surname.

‘Burg’ (Old High German ‘burug’ or ‘burg’) referred to a fortified complex on high ground – a refuge to which the population retreated in times of danger. According to Duden, the word dates back to Old High German. Today, it lives on in place names such as Wartburg and Regensburg, but also in metaphors such as ‘Schutzburg’ or ‘Datenburg’.

‘Hof’ (Old High German ‘hof’) was the walled farmstead, the central hub of life. In the Middle Ages, its meaning expanded to include a prince’s court, a court of law and the inner courtyard of a building – a remarkable differentiation in meaning that continues to this day.

Knecht (Old High German ‘kneht’) initially simply referred to a young man or servant, and in some cases also to an armed retainer. The word survives in surnames such as Knecht or Knechtel and, of course, in the figure of Knecht Ruprecht.

‘Schild’ (Old High German ‘scilt’) was the warrior’s shield. From a military object, the word evolved to mean a street sign and a directional sign – whilst retaining, at its core, the fundamental function of making something visible and protecting it.

Woman, man, child: medieval family terms

Terms of kinship are among the oldest and most stable words in a language. They rarely change because the fundamental relationships between parents, children and partners are universal.

The word ‘Frau’ (Middle High German ‘vrouwe’) had a very different social status in the High Middle Ages than it does today. It was the feminine form of Old High German ‘frō’ for ‘lord’ and referred to a high-ranking, noble or courtly lady – comparable to the masculine ‘lord’. In courtly literature, for example in the works of Walther von der Vogelweide, the ‘vrouwe’ represented the ideal of feminine virtue, whilst the more general term ‘wîp’ was used for women of all social classes. This elevated meaning of ‘Frau’ persisted for a long time: it was not until the 17th century that the newly emerging loanword ‘Dame’ took on the role of a status designation, whilst ‘Frau’ evolved into a general, neutral term for an adult female person.

The word ‘Mensch’ (Old High German ‘man’) originally had the more general meaning of ‘human being, person’ – regardless of gender. Old expressions such as ‘jedermann’ still retain this meaning. It was only gradually that the word came to be restricted to its specifically masculine meaning. Surnames such as Neumann or Altmann echo this old universal form.

The word ‘Kind’ (Old High German ‘kind’, Middle High German ‘kint’) is a prime example of stability. It derives from a Germanic root meaning simply ‘the one who is born’. The form has hardly changed, and the meaning has remained virtually identical. It was only in more recent times that compounds such as ‘Kindergarten’ or ‘Kindheit’ emerged, yet the core of the word is around 1,000 years old.

The word ‘Braut’ (Old High German ‘brût’) also has a long history. It referred to a young woman in the context of a wedding. It lives on to this day in idioms such as ‘to lead someone to the altar’ and in religious imagery.

An example of an old word that now seems rather historical is ‘Magd’ (Old High German ‘magad’). It originally referred to a young, unmarried woman – neutrally, without any negative connotations. Incidentally, this gave rise to the word ‘Mädchen’, which has replaced ‘Magd’ in everyday speech. The expression ‘Dreikäsehoch’, on the other hand, refers to a child aged between three and six and shows just how vivid language could be, even for the very youngest.

Crafts, labour and wages: the everyday economy of the Middle Ages

The way we talk about work can largely be traced back to the Middle Ages, when the class system and guilds shaped social life.

Work (Old High German ‘arabeit’) is a striking example of a shift in meaning. Originally, the word meant suffering and hardship – it described something one had to endure. It was only in the course of the Middle Ages that the meaning shifted towards ‘activity’. The neutral to positive connotation that prevails today, referring to paid work, is a relatively recent development.

Craft (Middle High German ‘hantwerc’) literally means ‘work of the hand’. From the 13th to the 15th century, craftspeople increasingly organised themselves into guilds, which regulated training, quality standards and market access. Today, the meaning of the word also encompasses ‘craftsmanship’ – the progression from mere activity to masterful skill.

‘Meister’ (Middle High German ‘meister’, from the Latin ‘magister’) entered the German language via Latin and became a core concept of the guild system. The master’s examination and the master’s certificate remain integral parts of the German training system to this day. Furthermore, the word has found its way into sport (‘world champion’) and into everyday language (‘masterful performance’).

In the Middle Ages, the word ‘Lohn’ (Old High German ‘lôn’) encompassed not only money but any kind of reward or remuneration. The modern distinction from a ‘salary’ – understood as a fixed monthly payment – is a more recent development. Idioms such as ‘the reward for one’s efforts’ still recall the original, broader meaning. Related to this is the word ‘Salär’, which entered the German language via Latin (‘salarium’, from ‘sal’ for salt) – for salt was a valuable commodity in antiquity and, to some extent, in the Middle Ages too, and was sometimes used as a form of remuneration.

‘Zins’ (Middle High German ‘zins’) referred to payments in kind or money made to landlords or the Church. In Switzerland and Austria, ‘Mietzins’ remains the common term for rent to this day. In banking terminology, the word lives on in any case – every savings account uses this medieval term.

Law, debt and court: legal terms with a history

Medieval legal sources such as the *Sachsenspiegel*, written by Eike von Repgow between 1220 and 1235, are among the oldest German legal texts and, at the same time, among the very first works of prose written in German. Many of the terms used in them can still be heard in every courtroom today.

The word ‘Recht’ (Old High German ‘reht’) ultimately derives from the same Indo-European root as the Latin ‘regere’, meaning ‘to rule, to govern’. Originally, it referred to what was straight, right or orderly. Today, it features in compounds such as ‘Rechtsstaat’ (constitutional state) and ‘rechtens’ (in accordance with the law), and in the everyday expression ‘Recht haben’ (to be right).

‘Schuld’ (Old High German ‘sculd’, ‘sculda’) has been attested in Old High German since the 8th century and belongs to the Germanic word family centred on ‘sollen’. From the very beginning, the word had a dual meaning: it denoted both a material obligation – that is, debt as a financial liability – and moral responsibility. This dual meaning already existed in the Middle Ages and continues to shape our society to this day – ‘to be at fault’ and ‘to run up debts’ are linguistically close to one another, yet mean entirely different things.

‘Gericht’ (Old High German ‘girihti’) originally referred to the place and the act of judging – a judgement, a decision. The fact that we now also refer to a dish as a ‘Gericht’ is a shift in meaning that was already evident in Middle High German: a ‘gerichtetes’ meal was a prepared, served meal. Thus, a single word has come to have two entirely different meanings.

‘Zeuge’ (Middle High German ‘ziuge’) is etymologically linked to ‘ziehen’ – a witness was someone who was ‘called in’ to corroborate something. This basic idea lives on in modern contexts, from court witnesses to contemporary witnesses.

Strafe (Middle High German ‘strafe’) is an old legal term that has passed almost unchanged from medieval legal language into today’s legal and everyday usage – from a fine to a parking ticket.

The Church, Faith and Medieval Religious Language

The European Middle Ages were deeply shaped by Christianity. Latin was the language of the Church, scholarship and administration, yet many fundamental religious concepts found their way into German.

The word ‘Church’ (Old High German ‘kirihha’) ultimately derives from the Late Greek ‘kyrikón’, a derivative of ‘kyriakón’ meaning ‘belonging to the Lord’. The word was probably introduced as early as late antiquity via the Greek- and Latin-influenced Christianity of Roman colonial cities such as Trier or Cologne. The church building was the centre of every medieval village. Today, the word features in compounds such as ‘church tax’ and ‘church music’ and refers to both the building and the institution. The word ‘sacrament’ is also associated with religious ceremonies; as an ecclesiastical term, it was adopted from Latin and remains firmly established in the liturgy to this day.

‘Pfarrer’ (Middle High German ‘pfarære’, from the Latin ‘parochus’) referred to the pastor of a parish. Depending on the denomination, clergy today hold various official titles, but ‘Pfarrer’ remains in common use in both the Protestant and Catholic traditions.

Fasting (Old High German ‘fastên’) was a strictly observed ecclesiastical practice in the Middle Ages – particularly the forty-day Lenten period before Easter. Today, the word has also taken on secular meanings: intermittent fasting and therapeutic fasting have little to do with the original religious context, but use the same ancient verb.

‘Sin’ (Old High German ‘sunta’) carried great theological weight in the Middle Ages. The dilution of its meaning is striking: today we casually speak of a ‘sweet-eating sin’ or a ‘minor sin’ – the gravity of the word has evaporated, whilst the form has remained.

‘Heaven’ and ‘hell’ (Old High German ‘himil’, ‘hella’) have also come a long way. From religious concepts of the afterlife, they have evolved into metaphorical everyday expressions: ‘floating in seventh heaven’ and ‘enduring a hellish racket’ now have very little to do with theology.

Numbers, markets, money: economic terms with a long tradition

Trade and markets were already central elements of urban culture in the 12th and 13th centuries – and with them came established economic terms that we still use today.

The word ‘Zahl’ and the verb ‘zahlen’ (Old High German ‘zala’, ‘zalōn’) have undergone a fascinating transformation. Originally, ‘zala’ simply meant ‘quantity, enumeration’. From this, the connection to money developed: ‘zahlen’ as the act of handing over money. Idioms such as ‘to foot the bill’ combine both layers of meaning – the bill as a list and the act of payment.

‘Markt’ (Middle High German ‘mark(t)’, from the Latin ‘mercatus’) was the weekly market in a medieval town – a place where goods were exchanged and news was shared. In the Middle Ages, having one’s own market rights was a municipal privilege of enormous significance. Today, the word has evolved into abstract concepts such as ‘labour market’ or ‘market share’, but at the weekly market round the corner, the old meaning literally lives on.

Buying and ‘to buy’ (Old High German ‘kouf’, ‘koufen’) were the foundations of trade. The merchants of the Hanseatic League, active from the 13th to the 15th century, shaped entire economic regions through their long-distance trade. From medieval barter to the modern consumer society: the word has endured all these changes.

‘Münze’ (Middle High German ‘münze’) referred to the minted piece of metal as a store of value. Medieval silver pfennigs and groschen have disappeared, but the one-euro coin bears the same name.

‘Ware’ (Middle High German ‘wâr(e)’) was part of the merchants’ vocabulary. Today, it features in terms such as ‘merchandise management’ and ‘shopping basket’. The word has never lost its place in the world of commerce.

House, courtyard, hearth: living in the Middle Ages and today

Many basic concepts relating to housing date back to Old High German times and have changed surprisingly little. When you go home, you are stepping onto linguistically ancient ground.

House (Old High German ‘hūs’) – from the simple wooden or half-timbered structures of the 11th to 13th centuries to the modern detached house. Compound words such as ‘housewife’ and ‘housework’ reveal that the house has always been more than just a building: it was the social hub.

Herd (Old High German ‘herd’) was the central hearth in the medieval house. This is where meals were cooked, where people warmed themselves, and where the family gathered. The transition from an open fire to an electric cooker is a huge technical leap, yet the expression ‘at the hearth’ preserves the old symbolism.

The cellar (Middle High German ‘kellære’, from the Latin ‘cellarium’) served as a storeroom in the medieval stone house. Its function remains virtually identical to this day: wine cellars and storerooms have hardly changed over the centuries – a tub of pickled vegetables stood there back then, just as a shelf of preserving jars does today.

Stube (Middle High German ‘stube’) referred to the heated living room. The ‘gute Stube’ (parlour), as a special room for guests, is still common in some regions, and words such as ‘Wohnstube’ (living room) or ‘Gaststube’ (dining room) demonstrate the longevity of this term.

Fenster (Middle High German ‘venster’, from the Latin ‘fenestra’) entered the German language as a loanword via Latin. Early glass windows became widespread from the High Middle Ages onwards. Today, the word has even acquired a technical metaphor: every ‘Windows window’ on the screen bears this medieval name, and light now shines through double glazing rather than oiled parchment.

Body parts and health: ancient German words in everyday life

Words for parts of the body are conservative – they form part of the oldest layer of any language and change very little over the centuries.

The words ‘hand’ (Old High German ‘hant’), ‘foot’ (Old High German ‘fuoʒ’), ‘heart’ (Old High German ‘herz’) and ‘head’ (Old High German ‘kopf’ or the older ‘houbit’) have changed only slightly in form and sound; their meanings have remained stable. ‘Belly’ as a term for a part of the body also dates back a long way to Old High German and has never lost its place in everyday language.

Particularly revealing are fixed idioms featuring these old body terms:

  • ‘To have someone by the hand’ – in the Middle Ages, this was meant literally as a gesture of guidance
  • ‘To carry something in one’s heart’ – the heart was regarded as the seat of the soul and of memories
  • ‘To lose one’s head’ – an expression that, in an era when beheading was a real punishment, could certainly be taken quite literally

The word ‘blood’ (Old High German ‘bluot’) was not only a medical term in the Middle Ages, but also a religious and legal one. The four humours theory of medieval medicine assigned blood a central role in health. This concept lives on in figurative expressions such as ‘blood relation’ or ‘blood brotherhood’.

‘Wound’ (Middle High German ‘wunde’) is attested as early as the early Middle Ages in medical texts. Today we use the word in both its medical and figurative senses – the ‘emotional wound’ is a metaphor that illustrates how physical experiences are transferred to the mind.

A person from the Middle Ages would therefore have understood almost all our terms relating to the body. The language has changed so little in this area that communication on fundamental topics would still be possible even across the centuries.

Nature, weather and landscape: old German words in the countryside

A medieval depiction of rain and storms – nature immortalised in historical medieval terms

In the Middle Ages, farmers and townspeople lived much more closely connected to nature than we do today. This close connection to the landscape is reflected in the language – and remains visible to this day.

‘Wald’ (Old High German ‘wald’) and ‘Baum’ (Old High German ‘boum’) are frequently attested in medieval legal sources. Forest laws regulated who was permitted to fell timber, hunt animals or drive pigs to feed on acorns. Modern compound words such as ‘Waldweg’ (forest path) or ‘Weihnachtsbaum’ (Christmas tree) demonstrate this continuity – the words are so commonplace that their age is hardly noticeable.

‘Berg’ (Old High German ‘berg’) referred to a natural elevation and became part of countless place names: Bamberg, Heidelberg, Nuremberg. Today, it also features in metaphors such as ‘a mountain of work’ or ‘moving mountains’. The object referred to by the term has remained the same.

Fluss (Middle High German ‘vluʒ’) evolved from the flowing body of water, which in the Middle Ages was often imbued with religious significance – the Danube and the Rhine were regarded as important, partly legendary rivers – into a matter-of-fact, everyday geographical term. Idioms such as ‘things are getting into their stride’ still recall the original dynamism.

Rain (Old High German ‘regan’) and storm (Old High German ‘sturm’) have retained their basic meanings for over a millennium. What has changed are the cultural interpretations: in the Middle Ages, a storm was often interpreted as a sign of divine wrath; today, it is a topic of small talk. Many other landscape terms, such as ‘valley’, ‘meadow’ and ‘floodplain’, also have Middle High German or Old High German roots and live on in field names and walking maps.

City life in the Middle Ages: alley, market, council and citizens

With the flourishing of towns from the 12th century onwards, new words for urban life emerged, which can still be heard today in every city guide and at every local council meeting.

‘Stadt’ (Middle High German ‘stat’) originally simply meant ‘place, location’. It was only with the granting of special town charters that it increasingly became a legal term for a fortified settlement with its own privileges. Lübeck, for example, was granted its own town charter as early as 1143 and, in 1226 under Emperor Frederick II, was further elevated to the status of a Free Imperial City; from there, Lübeck law spread as a model for numerous towns in the Baltic region. The transformation from a mere ‘place’ to a legally constituted city took place over the course of centuries.

‘Gasse’ (Middle High German ‘gasse’) described the narrow streets in the medieval town centre. In southern German towns, streets are still called ‘Gassen’ today – a regional peculiarity that seems unfamiliar to those in the north, but is entirely correct from a historical linguistic perspective. The old town alleys in Rothenburg ob der Tauber or Salzburg are living testimonies to medieval urban planning.

‘Bürger’ (Middle High German ‘burger’) was a free town dweller with guaranteed rights. The word has had a remarkable evolution: from the medieval town dweller to the ‘Bürgermeister’ (mayor), to the ‘Bürgerschaft’ (citizenship) and to ‘Bürgerrechte’ (civil rights) as a core political concept of the modern era.

‘Rat’ referred to the town council, the assembly of councillors. Today, it is found in ‘Stadtrat’ (city council), ‘Bundesrat’ (Federal Council) and even in the simple phrase ‘Rat geben’ (to give advice). The shift from a political body to general advice shows how a word acquires new layers of meaning without losing the old ones.

‘Zunft’ (Middle High German ‘zunft’) referred to the guild-based organisation of craftsmen. Today, the word is only used in a historical or figurative sense – ‘the journalists’ guild’ is an ironic allusion to the medieval system.

War, enemy, peace: political words with deep roots

Medieval societies were characterised by conflicts, feuds and the struggle for peace. We still use the political language that emerged from this today.

War (Middle High German ‘kriec’) originally meant strife and exertion – not necessarily the organised armed conflict that we understand it to mean today. The narrowing of its meaning to refer specifically to military conflict took place gradually. Soldiers in the modern sense did not yet exist in the Middle Ages: the word ‘Soldat’ only entered the German language in the 16th century via the Italian ‘soldato’ – literally ‘one taken into service’ –.

‘Feind’ (Old High German ‘fiant’) referred to an abstract adversary, someone who sought to cause harm. Today, the word features in compounds such as ‘Erzfeind’ (arch-enemy) and ‘Feindbild’ (enemy image). Metaphorical enemies, too – the ‘inner enemy’ or the ‘enemy of time’ – share the same ancient root.

‘Frieden’ (Old High German ‘fridu’) meant security and protection from attack. In the High Middle Ages, ‘Landfrieden’ became a central legal concept: The Imperial Peace of Mainz, promulgated by Emperor Frederick II in 1235, was the first imperial law to be proclaimed not only in Latin but also in Middle High German, and remained one of the Holy Roman Empire’s fundamental laws until its dissolution. Today, ‘Frieden’ remains a fundamental political and personal concept.

‘Heer’ (Old High German ‘heri’) referred to a military campaign and the armed forces. Today, the word tends to appear in fixed expressions – ‘an army of unemployed people’ – or in historical contexts. However, it has not entirely lost its former force.

Similarly, ‘Schlacht’ (Middle High German ‘slaht’, from ‘slahan’ meaning ‘to strike’) reveals its concrete, physical origins: a ‘Schlacht’ was an exchange of blows, a clash involving armed force. The fact that we now speak quite naturally of an ‘election battle’ or a ‘discount battle’ shows just how far the word has strayed from the battlefield.

Language about language: ‘word’, ‘speech’ and ‘language’ itself are medieval

Even the way we talk about language has evolved over time. The meta-words of language are themselves ancient.

‘Wort’ (Old High German ‘wort’) is already attested in the earliest Old High German translations of the Bible. In the Middle Ages, the range of meanings encompassed the individual word, spoken discourse and a promise made. The expression ‘to keep one’s word’ has its roots in this range of meanings.

‘Rede’ (Middle High German ‘rede’) referred to spoken utterances. In idioms such as ‘to give an account’ and ‘to call someone to account’, the old meaning of binding speech lives on.

The word ‘language’ (Middle High German ‘sprâche’) is directly linked to the verb ‘to speak’ (Middle High German ‘sprëchen’). The development from spoken language to the abstract ‘German language’ as a national concept is remarkable – the idea of a unified national language only became part of national identity in the 18th and 19th centuries.

‘Buchstabe’ (Middle High German ‘buochstabe’) originally referred to an engraved rune or inscription – a ‘beech stick’ in the literal sense, carved into wood. Today we use the term to mean a letter of the alphabet, yet its material origins are still echoed in the name.

‘Spruch’ (Middle High German ‘spruoch’) was a central concept in medieval law and in the poetry of the Minnesang tradition. A judge’s verdict was a ‘Spruch’, and the poets’ verses were ‘Sprüche’. Today we find the word in ‘proverb’ and ‘judgement’ – a dual trace that points to both medieval law and medieval texts.

Idioms with a medieval core

Many idioms have their roots in the Middle Ages, even if they now seem purely figurative. They are like living fossils of a way of life long past.

‘To be a burden to someone’ has its origins in medieval legal and tax terminology, in which burdens and levies were quantified in concrete terms. Anyone who was ‘a burden’ to someone else incurred measurable costs. Today, we use the phrase to describe any kind of nuisance.

‘Paying the bill’ links medieval tavern culture with the account books of merchants. The ‘bill’ as a written statement and ‘paying’ as the handing over of money – both are words with medieval origins.

‘To stand one’s ground’ links an ancient term for a part of the body with military confrontation. Anyone who stood their ground against the enemy literally faced them head-on, face to face. Images of chivalrous confrontation echo in this phrase.

There are dozens of such phrases that act as a window into the medieval world. Once you start looking for them, you’ll find them everywhere – in the newspaper, in conversations with colleagues and in literature. They are treasures of linguistic history that are taken for granted in everyday use.

From medieval to modern meanings: how old words change

Semantic change – that is, the shift in the meanings of words over time – is a natural process. The meanings of many words have changed over the centuries, and this change can be observed particularly clearly in medieval words.

In the Middle Ages, ‘Dienst’ (Old High German ‘dionōst’) referred to personal feudal service: a vassal rendered service to his lord in the form of allegiance and military service. Today we speak of ‘customer service’ and ‘services’ – social changes that are reflected in the word, without the basic structure of ‘serving’ having been lost.

‘Amt’ (Middle High German ‘ambet’, ‘amt’) originally referred to a spiritual or secular office of authority – a position associated with power and responsibility. Today, the word encompasses abstract public authorities such as the ‘tax office’ and voluntary roles such as ‘honorary office’. Attitudes towards the office have changed, but the word itself has not.

The terms ‘Knecht’ and ‘Magd’ reveal a different shift: in the Middle Ages, both were neutral occupational terms without any negative connotations. Over the centuries, some related terms for women became laden with social stigma. This is particularly evident in the word ‘Dirne’ (Old High German ‘diorna’ for ‘young girl, maiden’): Originally entirely neutral, its meaning narrowed increasingly from the 16th century onwards to ‘prostitute’, whilst the older, unburdened meaning survives only in dialect, for example in the Bavarian-Austrian ‘Dirndl’ or in the North German ‘Deern’.

Honour (Old High German ‘ēra’) was a central value of chivalric and courtly culture in the High Middle Ages. Anyone who lost their honour lost their social standing. Today, the concept of honour is defined in legal and moral terms: ‘defamation’ is a legal offence, whilst ‘voluntary work’ is an expression of civic engagement.

This shift demonstrates just how flexible a language is – it adapts to new circumstances whilst still retaining its ancient word roots. The language has changed gradually over the centuries, not in leaps and bounds, and that is precisely what makes its continuity so fascinating.

Loanwords from the Middle Ages: Latin, French and more in German

It is not only ‘genuine’ German words that date back to the Middle Ages – many loanwords also entered the language at that time and are now taken for granted. Since the Middle Ages, the German language has been a tapestry of native and borrowed words.

The most prominent conduits were monasteries and royal courts. Through them, Latin words such as ‘Fenster’ (from the Latin ‘fenestra’) and ‘Keller’ (from the Latin ‘cellarium’) found their way into Middle High German and from there into Modern High German. In the monastery kitchens, the languages literally mingled whilst cooking: ‘Küche’ and ‘Koch’ are derived from the Latin ‘coquere’, meaning ‘to cook’.

‘Tisch’ (Old High German ‘tisc’, from the Latin ‘discus’, which in turn derives from the Greek ‘diskos’) is a prime example of a shift in meaning. The Latin ‘discus’ referred to a throwing disc or flat plate. In the Germanic period, the table consisted of such a flat plate resting on a frame, which also served as a dining bowl. The object has changed, but the word has remained.

Many words also entered the German language from French during the Middle Ages. The chivalric world adopted terms such as ‘Turnier’ and ‘Page’, which have been firmly established since the High Middle Ages. The influence of French on courtly culture was so strong that some chivalric epics were written with entire passages in a mixture of German and French. Furthermore, the Arabic scholarly tradition, which reached Europe via Spain and southern Italy, influenced mathematics, medicine and the natural sciences in the Middle Ages – words such as ‘algebra’ and ‘algorithm’ have their roots here.

This diversity should not be judged, but rather seen for what it is: a testament to an open, receptive linguistic culture that has been absorbing influences for over 1,000 years and making them its own. Native German words and loanwords stand side by side on an equal footing.

Medieval words in surnames and place names

Many surnames became established in the late Middle Ages, between the 14th and 16th centuries. In doing so, they preserved old occupational and everyday words as if encased in linguistic amber.

Occupational surnames are the most common German surnames of all:

Surname Medieval occupation Old word form
Schmidt Blacksmith Middle High German ‘smit’
Miller Müller, grain mill Middle High German ‘müller’
Farmer Farmer Old High German ‘gibūro’
Fisherman Fisherman Middle High German ‘vischære’
Farmhand Servant, retainer Old High German ‘kneht’

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Myth & fact Daily life & culture History Faith & myths Crafts & material culture Clothing & fashion Kitchen & table Feasts & the year All about the hobby From the shop
Medieval knowledge

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Daily life & culture · The strangest laws of the Middle Ages – prohibitions that sound absurd today Daily life & culture · Medieval advertising – how traders used to attract customers back then Daily life & culture · What the Romans really got up to in their spare time – 7 surprising facts
Since 2006part of the medieval scene
4.84 out of 5 2,621 reviews
Shop on siteRosenau 16a, Rinchnach

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4.84

out of 5 · from 2,621 reviews on 3 platforms

Overall score: average of all reviews on these platforms, weighted by their number and updated daily. Buyers are invited to leave a review after their order, today via Trusted Shops, previously via Shopauskunft. We cannot verify whether Google reviews come from buyers.