sehnsucht

S1E1H4N1S1U1C3H4T1
UK/ˈzeɪnˌzuːxt/US/ˈzeɪnˌzʊxt/

noun

Tender, wistful, or melancholic desire; yearning, longing.

OriginGerman Sehnsucht ← Middle High German suht ← Old High German suht →
UncommonScrabble 17
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Meanings

sehnsucht1

nounsehnsucht (uncountable)
  1. uncountableAlternative letter-case form of Sehnsucht.

Sehnsucht2

nounSehnsucht (uncountable)

alternative sehnsucht

  1. literaryuncountableTender, wistful, or melancholic desire; yearning, longing.

Origin

  1. Germansehnen
  2. Proto-Germanic*seukaną
  3. Proto-Germanic*suhtiz
  4. Proto-West Germanic*suhti
  5. Old High Germansuht
  6. Middle High Germansuht
  7. GermanSucht
  8. GermanSehnsucht
  9. EnglishSehnsucht

Borrowed from German Sehnsucht, from sehnen (“to long”) + Sucht (“anxiety; sickness; addiction”).

More words from German

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

sehnsucht. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sehnsucht

MLA

“sehnsucht.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sehnsucht. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sehnsucht,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sehnsucht.

Source: sehnsucht on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.