Ersatz is a German word literally meaning substitute or replacement. Although it is used as an adjective in English, Ersatz can function in German only as a noun on its own, or as a part in compound nouns such as Ersatzteile (spare parts) or Ersatzspieler (substitute player). While the English term often implies that the substitution is of unsatisfactory or inferior quality, this connotation does not necessarily exist in the German context. For example, "Ersatzbutter" or "Butter-Ersatz" could be used as a generic term for margarine as a substitute for butter. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Margarine in a tub Margarine (pronunciation: ), as a generic term, can indicate any of a wide range of butter-substitutes. ... Butter is commonly sold in sticks (pictured) or blocks, and frequently served with the use of a butter knife. ...

In English, "ersatz" arose as a pejorative adjective from the experiences of thousands of U.S., British, and other English-speaking combat personnel, primarily airmen, who were captured in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. These Allied Kriegsgefangene (prisoners of war) were served Ersatzkaffee (replacement coffee) by their German captors, who had no real coffee to offer them. Needless to say, this substitute drink (a Getreidekaffee or "grain coffee") was not popular with the POWs, who longed for the real thing.

As to why Ersatz is a noun only in German but an adjective in English, the explanation is the German language's greater propensity for building new words out of existing ones by combining nouns. In the case of Ersatzkaffee, the latter two syllables were recognizably "coffee" to English-speaking ears so the first half of this word was logically but mistakenly assumed to be an adjective, when it is in fact the first half of a single German word. ^{[citation needed]} In this way, "ersatz" came to be an English adjective connoting something inferior if not entirely phony, as when one thing masquerades for another.

Historical context

The term ersatz probably gained international attention during World War I, when Allied fleets cut off all sea transports to Germany, forcing Germany to develop substitutes for products like chemical compounds and provisions. Ersatz products developed during this time included: synthetic rubber (buna produced from oil), benzene for heating oil (coal gas), tea composed of ground raspberry leaves or catnip, and coffee, using roasted beans, which were not coffee beans. Though a similar situation arose in Germany during World War II, this connotation with the term ersatz has sunk into oblivion in present Germany. “The Great War ” redirects here. ... A chemical compound is a chemical substance of two or more different chemically bonded chemical elements, with a fixed ratio determining the composition. ... In telecommunication, provisioning is the act of acquiring telecommunications service from the submission of the requirement through the activation of service. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... Synthetic rubber is any type of artificially made polymer material which acts as an elastomer. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Lubbock, Texas Ignacy Łukasiewicz - inventor of the refining of kerosene from crude oil. ... For benzine, see petroleum ether. ... Tea leaves in a Chinese gaiwan. ... Cultivated raspberries The raspberry (plural, raspberries) is the edible fruit of a number of species of the genus Rubus. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Nepeta. ... It has been suggested that Grain coffee be merged into this article or section. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Legume, Pulse (legume) and Fabaceae (Discuss) Green beans Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of Fabaceae (formerly Leguminosae) used for food or feed. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Another example of the word's usage in Germany exists in the German naval construction programs of the beginning of the 20th century. In this context the phrasing "Ersatz (shipname)" indicates that a new, larger, or more capable ship was a replacement for an aging or lost previous vessel. Because German practice was not to reveal the name of a new ship until its launch, this meant that the vessel was known by its "Ersatz (shipname)" throughout its construction. At the end of World War I a class of incomplete battlecruisers was known simply as the Ersatz Yorck class, since the first ship was considered to be a replacement for the lost armored cruiser, Yorck. “The Great War ” redirects here. ... HMS Hood (left) and the battleship HMS Barham (right), in Malta, 1937. ... Schematic section of a typical armoured cruiser with an armoured upper and middle deck and side belt (red), lateral protective coal bunkers (grey) and a double-bottom of watertight compartments. ... SMS Yorck was the second and final ship of the Roon class of armored cruisers. ...

Ersatz capitalism

Relating to the scholarly work of Kunio Yoshihara, ersatz capitalism refers to the early rising economies of East Asia and their dynamic and technologically intensive development. Yoshihara's definition classifies Japanese, South Korean and Taiwanese nations' capitalist drives as what might be called "false capitalism." This refers to such government and business actors' abilities to utilize a nation's comparative advantages and artificially motivate an economy toward higher-end economic activities, specifically similar to those of developed Western nations, including areas such as capital investments and technologically intensive production. Capitalism generally refers to an economic system in which the means of production are all or mostly privately[1][2] owned and operated for profit, and in which investments, distribution, income, production and pricing of goods and services are determined through the operation of a free market. ...

See also

• The Ersatz Elevator