Talk:engel des doods

RFD discussion: November 2018–March 2020

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engel des doods

Dutch for "angel of death", engel + des + doods. I am not sure that we should have these noun phrases with a genitive element, rather than just having the genitive phrases. The idiomaticity seems arguable at best, it is just an angel that brings death, but the term can be used figuratively. This contrasts with steen des aanstoots for instance, which is always used figuratively. ←₰-→ Lingo ^Bingo _Dingo (talk) 12:27, 1 November 2018 (UTC)

Isn't the idiomaticity pretty much the same as that of the English term angel of death, at least the first sense? Beyond that, it also seems to be used to refer specifically to various bringers of death associated with genocides which have little to do with the SOP meaning of the phrase with engel, particularly the Holocaust. Most famously of course in the case of Mengele, but I also found a Nazi in Treblinka being described using that phrase in a quick Google Books search. — Mnemosientje (t · c) 13:17, 1 November 2018 (UTC)

Well, the senses "murderous caregiver" and "shinigami", not to mention a translation hub argument, seem to justify the English entry to a greater extent than the Dutch entry is justified by figurative use. But feel free to RFD that one as well if you want to. ;) ←₰-→ Lingo ^Bingo _Dingo (talk) 13:28, 1 November 2018 (UTC)

The figurative sense of “murderous caregiver” is also found in Dutch: [1]; [2]. And here the shinigami is called an engel des doods. The epithet is also applied here to Azrael, as well as on the Dutch Wikipedia.  --Lambiam 21:42, 1 November 2018 (UTC)

• RFD-kept. —Μετάknowledge^{discuss/deeds} 06:56, 23 March 2020 (UTC)