Kleinod

"Kleinod" was crowned the most beautiful endangered German word last week by a jury of language experts as part of an independent context initiated by writer and journalist Bodo Mrozek. The jury had to decide between 2,000 suggestions from German-speaking countries and abroad of words that are disappearing from common use. In use as early as the Middle Ages, Kleinod had many uses. It referred to the adornment on a knight's helmet, for example, as well as a king's orb and sceptre. It could also mean a gift or payment -- even livestock or vegetables. In short, a "Kleinod" was something valuable. Used figuratively, it came to mean a seemingly inconsequential object whose personal significance isn't necessarily evident at first glance. Indeed, a word itself can also be a "Kleinod" -- a point which convinced the jury to select it as the most beautiful endangered word. Perhaps the recognition will bring "Kleinod" back to the land of the living, which is precisely Bodo Mrozek's intent.