Taugenichts

From taugen (“to be of use”) +‎ nichts (“nothing”), alteration of older tügenicht (1548), itself perhaps after Middle Low German dögenicht (1514); compare Dutch deugniet (1539). The two earliest High German attestations are apparently in authors from the Low German borderland: 1548 in Burkard Waldis from Allendorf (who also lived in Low German Riga), and 1563 in Joachim Westphal from the area of Mansfeld-Südharz. Sometimes considered an eventual loan translation of French vaurien, which seems to be later, however (1558 ?). Generally, the chronological evidence must be valued with caution in an informal word such as this.

• IPA^(key): /ˈtaʊ̯ɡənɪçts/

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Taugenichts m (strong, genitive Taugenichts or Taugenichtses, plural Taugenichtse)

1. (derogatory, perhaps dated) good-for-nothing

   Synonyms: (regional) Hallodri, Herumtreiber, Nichtsnutz, (regional) Krattler, Tunichtgut

   • 1826, Joseph von Eichendorff, Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts, page 3; republished as Bayard Quincy, transl., Memoirs of a Good-for-Nothing, 1955:

     Da trat der Vater aus dem Hause; er hatte schon seit Tagesanbruch in der Mühle rumort und die Schlafmütze schief auf dem Kopfe, der sagte zu mir: „Du Taugenichts! da sonnst Du Dich schon wieder und dehnst und reckst Dir die Knochen müde, und läßt mich alle Arbeit allein thun. Ich kann Dich hier nicht länger füttern. Der Frühling ist vor der Thüre, geh auch einmal hinaus in die Welt und erwirb Dir selber Dein Brodt.“

     Suddenly my father came out; he had been making a rumpus in the mill since daybreak, and his nightcap sat awry on his head. He said to me, “You good-for-nothing! There you are sunning yourself again, stretching your bones till they ache, and letting me do all the work alone. I can't feed you here any longer. Spring is at hand: go out into the world for once and earn your own living.”

• Yiddish: טויגעניכטס (toygenikhts)

• “Taugenichts” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Taugenichts” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.