Name Origin
A self-adopted nickname of Hitler's was "Wolf", likely suggested by the derivation of his given name Adolf from the Old High German adal and wolf ("noble wolf"). Hitler began using the nickname in the early 1930s, and was so addressed only by those in his intimate circle. The nickname is reflected in the names of his various headquarters scattered throughout continental Europe, which also include Wolfsschlucht in Belgium and Wehrwolf in Ukraine.
Although the standard name in English for Wolfsschanze is "Wolf's Lair", the German name does not actually mean this. Schanze is a term from military engineering and is best translated as "fortification" or "sconce".
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Famous quotes containing the word origin:
“Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed,—a, to me, equally mysterious origin for it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“For, though the origin of most of our words is forgotten, each word was at first a stroke of genius, and obtained currency, because for the moment it symbolized the world to the first speaker and to the hearer. The etymologist finds the deadest word to have been once a brilliant picture.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)