kaputt

English

Pronunciation

  • Audio (General Australian):(file)

Adjective

kaputt (not comparable)

  1. Alternative spelling of kaput.

French

Alternative forms

  • capout

Etymology

Borrowed from German kaputt, itself from French capot.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ka.pyt/

Adjective

kaputt (invariable)

  1. kaput, out of order
  2. dead

German

Etymology

17th century, from French être capot (“not having won any trick in a card game”, as in German schwarz sein). The further origin is uncertain, though it probably stems from a figurative usage of capot (hood); Pfeiffer suggests an image of "a hood pulled over one's head and face" > "restrained and unable to perform actions" (DWDS). Compare Dutch kapot.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kaˈpʊt/
  • Audio (Austria):(file)
  • Audio (Germany):(file)
  • Hyphenation: ka‧putt

Adjective

kaputt (strong nominative masculine singular kaputter, comparative kaputter, superlative am kaputtesten)

  1. (slightly informal) destroyed, broken, out of order
    Synonyms: (out of order) defekt, außer Betrieb, außer Funktion, funktionsunfähig, (broken apart) entzwei, zerbrochen, zerrissen
    Das Auto ist kaputt.The car is broken.
  2. (colloquial) tired, exhausted

Usage notes

  • The main sense has become normal in most registers, including literary and media language, but it is still usually avoided in officialese and other highly formal contexts.

Declension

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Afrikaans: kapoet
  • Catalan: caput
  • English: kaput
  • French: kaputt
  • Russian: капут (kaput)

Further reading

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from German kaputt.

Adjective

kaputt (invariable)

  1. kaput

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From French être capot, via German kaputt.

Adjective

kaputt (indeclinable)

  1. kaput

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From French être capot, via German kaputt.

Adjective

kaputt (indeclinable)

  1. kaput

References

Plautdietsch

Adjective

kaputt

  1. out of order, broken,

Swedish

Adjective

kaputt (not comparable, indeclinable)

  1. (colloquial) kaput (broken)

References