Brennpunkt

See also: brennpunkt

German

Etymology

Calque of New Latin pūnctum ūstiōnis (17th c.), after the fact that sun rays burn when concentrated in a focus. By surface analysis, brennen +‎ Punkt

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbʁɛnˌpʊŋkt/

• Audio:

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• Audio (Austria):

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• Hyphenation: Brenn‧punkt

Noun

Brennpunkt m (strong, genitive Brennpunkts, plural Brennpunkte)

1. (optics) focus, focal point (point at which reflected or refracted rays of light converge)

   Synonym: Fokus

2. (mathematics) focus (point of a conic at which rays reflected from a curve or surface converge)
3. (figurative) focus

   Synonym: Blickpunkt

4. (figurative) hotspot, trouble spot, flashpoint

   ein sozialer Brennpunkt ― a social hotspot

   ein Sicherheitsbrennpunkt ― a security hotspot

   ein Umweltbrennpunkt ― an environmental flashpoint

Declension

Declension of Brennpunkt [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Brennpunkt	die	Brennpunkte
genitive	eines	des	Brennpunkts	der	Brennpunkte
dative	einem	dem	Brennpunkt	den	Brennpunkten
accusative	einen	den	Brennpunkt	die	Brennpunkte

Further reading

• “Brennpunkt” in Duden online