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Kris·tall·nacht

(krĭstəl-näkt′, -täl-nät′)

The night of November 9, 1938, on which the Nazis coordinated an attack on Jewish people and their property in Germany, Austria, and the Sudetenland.

[German, night of (broken) glass : Kristall, crystal (from Middle High German, from Old High German cristalla, from Latin crystallus, crystallum; see CRYSTAL) + Nacht, night (from Middle High German naht, from Old High German; see nek^w-t- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots).]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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