Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

anorak

German translation:

Freak

Added to glossary by Robin Ward
Apr 26, 2004 14:26
20 yrs ago
English term

anorak

English to German Other Other
Anyone know of a good German translation for this term?

Going beyond the basic meaning of an item of clothing (heavy coat to keep out wind and rain, with a hood) it also denotes a person who is very enthusiastic about a particular hobby and in some cases takes it to extremes (examples: trainspotting, offshore radio stations in the 60s in the UK, football or cricket statistics). Sometimes also has a derogatory overtone.

Maybe the use of the word is derived from the necessity to wear such clothing in order to, for example, collect engine numbers on cold, windy railway stations without freezing to death.

Discussion

Non-ProZ.com Apr 26, 2004:
Anorak: It's a translation for the person that I'm really after, not the item of clothing.

Proposed translations

+4
8 mins
Selected

Freak

wuerde ich sagen
Computer-Freak etc.

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Note added at 17 mins (2004-04-26 14:44:07 GMT)
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Wahrig:
1. unangepasster, verrueckter Mensch
2. jemand, der eine bestimmte Sache intensiv, fanatisch betreibt (Motorrad-Freak, Musik-Freak)
Peer comment(s):

agree Fabio Descalzi
2 mins
Danke!
agree David Moore (X) : Also, "Eisenbahnfreak"
24 mins
Danke!
agree Hans G. Liepert
55 mins
Danke!
agree Brandis (X)
15 hrs
Danke!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Yes, I think this is the most suitable translation. Thanks!"
17 mins

skurriler Typ im Anorak

Ich kenne den Begriff nur mit derogatory overtone.


Zuggucken im Anorak
Nur noch wenige "Trainspotter" gehen in Großbritannien ihrer skurrilen Sammelleidenschaft nach

"grauer Typ"

http://deistung.de/weltall/veroffentl/interview.html
Something went wrong...
27 mins

s.u.

Term used interchangeably with geek (Online-Spinner/Freak), techie, or nerd (hochintelligente, aber kontaktarme Person oft Hacker, z.B.). It derives from the stereotype that all technical people resemble the stereotypical anorak-wearing trainspotter; in other words, that they are obsessive, slightly antisocial, and overly knowledgeable about matters that interest very few other people...

= Außenseiter,>> Online-Spinner, Online-Freak, Computer-Fuzzie
Something went wrong...
6 hrs

Nerd

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/anorak

Just for interest really. The term "Nerd" seems to be becoming more common in German too, but while "anorak" and "nerd" often mean the same thing in English, I think "Nerd" (in German) is mainly used for computer nerds. Just an idea...


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Note added at 6 hrs 24 mins (2004-04-26 20:51:43 GMT)
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Whoops, sorry, this is the link I meant to insert:
http://www.single-generation.de/kritik/debatte_neidgesellsch...
Something went wrong...
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