Schaden
/ˈʃaːdən/noun
A German noun meaning harm, damage, or injury, occasionally used in English as part of the compound Schadenfreude.
Did you know?Schaden is the first half of Schadenfreude, the famous word for pleasure at another person’s misfortune; its deeper Germanic relative survives in the English verb scathe.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*skaþō
“Harm, injury, or damage”
Old High German
OHG
scado
“Harm or injury”
Middle High German
MHG
schade
“Damage, loss, or misfortune”
16th Century
German
Schaden
“Harm, damage, or loss”
18th Century
German
Schadenfreude
“Pleasure derived from another person’s misfortune”
Modern English
English
Schaden
“A German loan element, chiefly encountered in Schadenfreude”