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Definition 2024


lauter

lauter

English

Verb

lauter (third-person singular simple present lauters, present participle lautering, simple past and past participle lautered)

  1. To subject to lautering.

German

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈlaʊ̯tɐ/

Etymology 1

From Middle High German lūter, from Old High German hlūttar, from Proto-Germanic *hlūtraz. Compare Dutch louter (German in form), Gothic 𐌷𐌻𐌿𐍄𐍂𐍃 (hlutrs).

Adjective

lauter (comparative lauterer or lautrer, superlative am lautersten)

  1. (formal) sincere; honorable; of integrity; correct
    Der Angeklagten können lautere Absichten nicht abgesprochen werden.
    “The defendant’s honorable intentions cannot be denied.”
  2. (formal, literary, most often of metal) genuine; pure
    Der König trug einen Ring aus lauterem Gold.
    “The king wore a ring of genuine gold.”
  3. (in common use, uninflected, not comparable) a lot of; a bunch of; much; many; several
    Ich hab auf der Party lauter alte Freunde getroffen.
    “I met a bunch of old friends at the party.”
Declension
Synonyms
Derived terms
  • Lauterkeit
  • läutern
  • unlauter

Adverb

lauter

  1. (formal) in a sincere, honorable, correct manner; with integrity
    Die andere Seite hat sich in den Verhandlungen nicht lauter verhalten.
    “The other side did not behave correctly during the negotiations.”
  2. (in common use) just; only; exclusively; often best translated with all
    Die Leute in der Verwaltung sind lauter Idioten.
    “Those people in the administration are all idiots.”
    Das ist doch lauter Unsinn, was du sagst.
    “But that’s just nonsense what you’re saying.”
Usage notes
  • It is somewhat arbitrary to separate the sense “a lot, a bunch” (see the adjective) from the sense “exclusively, only” (adverb). Both often overlap and are not explicitly distinct in their construction. The distinction uninflected adjective versus adverb has been chosen here for simplicity, that is because the German synonyms and English translations tend to be of the respective parts of speech. — It may be well possible to analyse both senses as either adjectives or adverbs.
Synonyms

Etymology 2

Adjective

lauter

  1. comparative degree of laut