Gardemaß

German

Etymology

From Garde (“guard”) +‎ Maß (“measure, size”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

Gardemaß n (strong, genitive Gardemaßes, plural Gardemaße)

1. (military, historical) the minimum height required for service in an elite “guard” regiment
2. (by extension, informal) a required or preferred height in any context, tallness as such

Usage notes

• The Prussian Gardemaß is often claimed to have been 188 cm, but this applied only to the so-called Lange Kerls (“long fellows”), a particular representative regiment at Potsdam (dissolved in 1806). The general Gardemaß appears to have varied between 170 and 180 cm.

Declension

Declension of Gardemaß [neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Gardemaß	die	Gardemaße
genitive	eines	des	Gardemaßes	der	Gardemaße
dative	einem	dem	Gardemaß, Gardemaße1	den	Gardemaßen
accusative	ein	das	Gardemaß	die	Gardemaße

¹Now rare, see notes.