Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
Amt
English translation:
parish/district/county
Added to glossary by
Astrid Elke Witte
Oct 27, 2006 09:34
17 yrs ago
11 viewers *
German term
Germany
Precision at your fingertips
Native in: English (Variants: Scottish, British) 
Works in: German to English, French to English, Spanish to English
Amt
German to English
Art/Literary
History
History of the late 1790s
Can "Amt" mean parish or district in the context of old German? The text was written in 1921, the story is set in the late 1790s. The main part of the clause is:
"...um die Konzession zur Errichtung einer....im Amte Lauenstein" (nachzusuchen)
"...um die Konzession zur Errichtung einer....im Amte Lauenstein" (nachzusuchen)
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 | parish |
Henry Schroeder
|
| 3 +4 | county or Amt |
Matthias Quaschning-Kirsch
|
| 2 | district / leave out |
Francis Lee (X)
|
Proposed translations
28 mins
Henry Schroeder
United States
United States
Native in English
Specializes in field
United States
20 years of experience, certified, ATA
Native in: English (Variant: US)
Works in: German to English, Russian to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
32
Selected
parish
Though I would use parish, which I think is more suitable to that time period. George Eliot uses "parish" regularly.
http://www.books.google.com/books?q=parish "George Eliot"&lr...
http://www.books.google.com/books?q=parish "George Eliot"&lr...
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Dr. Georg Schweigart
: But parish normally or often is only one municipality, isn't?
3 mins
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks to all answerers and commentators!"
+4
15 mins
Matthias Quaschning-Kirsch
Germany
Germany
Native in German
Specializes in field
Germany
Reliably & quickly from the North to You
Native in: German
Works in: Swedish to German, Finnish to German, Danish to German, and 1 more.
county or Amt
See e.g.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amt_(subnational_entity)
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amt_Neuhaus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amt_(subnational_entity)
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amt_Neuhaus
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Dr. Georg Schweigart
7 mins
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Danke, Georg!
|
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| agree |
BrigitteHilgner
: county, district or something similar - certainly not parish.
18 mins
|
|
Danke, Brigitte!
|
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| agree |
Jeanette Phillips
: more like "department" rather than parish
51 mins
|
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Thanks, Jeanette!
|
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| agree |
Ingeborg Gowans (X)
2 hrs
|
| neutral |
Steven Sidore
: easy with the anti-Parish talk--for a story set in Louisiana, for example, where counties are are still called parishes today, it would most certainly fit. We need to hear where the story takes place first.
2 hrs
|
4 hrs
district / leave out
I have the impression that this may have merely been a title. For me, "parish" is a district as defined by the church, which does not appear to be the case here. And "county" implies a far more substantial area than - I think - was the case here.
1462: kurfürstliches Amt unter Franz von Körbitz
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauenstein
I've not read that article in its entirety, but I saw no reference to any "county" etc. centering on the town.
You'll need to find out exactly what this Amt comprised. If it really does refer to the surrounding area as well, I'd call it "district".
If it really is just a title, then "in Lauenstein" would suffice.
1462: kurfürstliches Amt unter Franz von Körbitz
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauenstein
I've not read that article in its entirety, but I saw no reference to any "county" etc. centering on the town.
You'll need to find out exactly what this Amt comprised. If it really does refer to the surrounding area as well, I'd call it "district".
If it really is just a title, then "in Lauenstein" would suffice.
Discussion