Salzamt
German
Etymology
Salz (“salt”) + Amt (“government agency”)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈzalt͡s.amt]
- (Austria) IPA(key): [ˈsalt͡s.amt]
- Hyphenation: Salz‧amt
Noun
Salzamt n (strong, genitive Salzamtes or Salzamts, plural Salzämter)
- (historical) an agency tasked with the administration of the government salt monopoly
- (Austria, humor) a fictional non-existing or unresponsive government agency
Usage notes
For the humerous usage, the word is typically used with the verb beschweren (“to complain”), e.g. Du kannst dich beim Salzamt beschweren (“you may complain at the department of saline affairs”), meaning that any complaint with any authority will be fruitless.
Declension
Declension of Salzamt [neuter, strong]
| singular | plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| indef. | def. | noun | def. | noun | |
| nominative | ein | das | Salzamt | die | Salzämter |
| genitive | eines | des | Salzamtes, Salzamts | der | Salzämter |
| dative | einem | dem | Salzamt, Salzamte1 | den | Salzämtern |
| accusative | ein | das | Salzamt | die | Salzämter |
1Now uncommon, see notes.
Further reading
- “Salzamt” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “Salzamt” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.
- “Salzamt” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
- “Salzamt” in Duden online