Meanings
zettelkasten1
plural zettelkastens
- Alternative letter-case form of Zettelkasten.
Zettelkasten2
plural Zettelkastens · alternative zettelkasten
- A system of small items of information stored on paper slips or cards, used for organizing knowledge and taking notes.
"Zettel" is German for an index card, and a "Zettelkasten" is a writer's index card file. Schmidt prepared for Zettels Traum with a collection of more than 100,000 index cards in his legendary card file.
1971, Hans-Bernhard Moeller, “Perception, Word-Play, and the Printed Page: Arno Schmidt and His Poe Novel”, in Books Abroad, volume 45, number 1, page 29
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA system of small items of information stored on paper slips or cards, used for organizing knowledge and taking notes.
Origin
- GermanZettelkasten
- EnglishZettelkasten
Borrowed from German Zettelkasten (literally “a slip box”).
More words from German
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
zettelkasten. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zettelkasten
“zettelkasten.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zettelkasten. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “zettelkasten,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zettelkasten.
Source: zettelkasten on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.