Brausebad

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbʁaʊ̯səbaːt/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

Brausebad n (strong, genitive Brausebades or Brausebads, plural Brausebäder)

1. (dated, offensive) shower

Usage notes

This word was common in German before the Second World War. As the word was written above the gas chambers in extermination camps, to give the impression that the Jews and Gypsies were being taken for a shower, the word became loaded with the shame of the Holocaust. It was taken out of dictionaries. The word Dusche was borrowed from the French to take the place of Brausebad.