gemütlichkeit means the state or fact of being gemütlich; middle-class niceness or cosiness, hospitality. It carries an Arena rating of 1635, earned across 94 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, gemütlichkeit ranks #260 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #1,074 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #4,212 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words, #5,981 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words.
Why “gemütlichkeit” is a great word
GEMÜTLICHKEIT — [Noun] A state of soul-deep warmth, cozy comfort, and social harmony that fosters belonging and well-being. From German Gemütlichkeit, from gemütlich ("cozy, congenial") + the noun suffix -keit (equivalent to -hood), with gemütlich deriving from Gemüt ("mind, soul, heart"). Unlike gezelligheid, which catalogs the lively conviviality of a gathering, or hospitality, which denotes the active practice of welcoming, Gemütlichkeit is the resultant, passive glow—the soul's sigh of contentment. It is the low amber light from a pub window pooling on snowy cobblestones, the shared, comfortable silence between old friends before a crackling fire, and the scent of woodsmoke and baking bread that seems to slow the very passage of time; a secular sanctity, a sanctuary for the soul against the world's chill.
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from German Gemütlichkeit.
noun
- The state or fact of being gemütlich; middle-class niceness or cosiness, hospitality.e.g.“John never got over contrasting her taste in clothes coupled with her experiments in domestic interiors and gemutlichkeit.” — 1933, Paul Horgan, Fault of Angels:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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