Sonderweg

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proper noun

The supposed positively or negatively 'special' path German history took before 1945 (different from e.g. the democratic path of Western Europe and the autocracy of Eastern Europe), considered as a cause of the political structure that developed in Germany.

OriginGerman Sonderweg →
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. The supposed positively or negatively 'special' path German history took before 1945 (different from e.g. the democratic path of Western Europe and the autocracy of Eastern Europe), considered as a cause of the political structure that developed in Germany.

Origin

  1. GermanSonderweg
  2. EnglishSonderweg

From German Sonderweg (literally “special path”).

More words from German

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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