Kampfbegriff

German

Etymology

Kampf (“fight”) +‎ Begriff (“term”). Compare English fighting words.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkamp͡fbəˌɡʁɪf/

Noun

Kampfbegriff m (genitive Kampfbegriffes or Kampfbegriffs, plural Kampfbegriffe)

1. a term which is often and polemically used by adherents of some opinion or ideology, particularly in order to claim that term and give it a partisan definition

   „Freiheit“ wurde zum Kampfbegriff der antisozialistischen Kräfte in den Staaten des westlichen Bündnisses.

   “Freedom” became a polemical term often repeated by anti-Socialist forces in the states of the Western alliance.

   „Rassismus“ ist ein Kampfbegriff geworden, mit dem die politische Rechte entlegitimiert werden soll.

   “Racism” has become a polemical term used to delegimitise the political Right.