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Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

rüsten

English translation:

get ready, prepare

Added to glossary by Timoshka
Jul 11, 2023 17:17
10 mos ago
38 viewers *
German term

rüsten

Non-PRO German to English Social Sciences General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
From a letter, written in March 1939 by a Jewish woman from Vienna, who--with her husband and child--had found refuge in Switzerland:

"Mein Mutterl beginnt auch schon langsam zu rüsten, ich kann den Moment nicht erwarten, bis wir wieder vereint sind. Leider haben wir unseren armen Vater nicht mit uns. – Jetzt heißt es vorschauen u. nicht zurück, sehr leicht gesagt!!"

The verb rüsten usually means to arm or to prepare (get ready), but I don't see how that fits in this context. Any ideas?
Proposed translations (English)
4 +6 get ready, prepare
4 +1 get set to leave ~ depart ~
Change log

Jul 13, 2023 06:55: Steffen Walter changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (3): AllegroTrans, Edith Kelly, Steffen Walter

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Discussion

Timoshka (asker) Jul 13, 2023:
@ Lancashireman That is very true. Most of these people wrote alternatively in German, Polish, English and even Hungarian. This particular writer also uses a lot of Viennese dialect.
Lancashireman Jul 13, 2023:
With or without reflexive pronoun? The speculation is based on the author having such a refined command of German that she would know or care. Timoshka’s frequent postings here concern texts that seem to have been written by (bilingual) Yiddish speakers.
Steffen Walter Jul 12, 2023:
Austrian The omission of "sich" might also be an Austrian/regional peculiarity (you wrote that she was from Vienna), but the meaning is abundantly clear, in my view. See the previous comments and Phil's answer.
Björn Vrooman Jul 12, 2023:
Reflexive use Yes, it can be used without "sich," but typically not when preparing yourself, as the asker has already said.

Even Grimm's Wörterbuch (the go-to source for older meanings) includes "sich" in all instances.

@Timoshka
There's only one other meaning I can think of and that is "rosten," as in she's getting old. I don't think that really works here, though, so I can only assume the writer dropped "sich" or used an ellipsis, which is the only way Justin's example could work: "Mein Mutterl beginnt auch schon langsam (zum Aufbruch) zu rüsten."

Sounds a bit weird, I admit, but unless you got more info about what mum is doing, I'd go for the most obvious solution.

Best
Justin Verceles Jul 12, 2023:
@Timoshka The verb can also be used without "sich"; the Duden gives as an example, "〈auch ohne „sich“:〉 zum Aufbruch rüsten." https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/ruesten
Timoshka (asker) Jul 11, 2023:
@ Björn Vrooman I guess I was confused by the lack of the reflexive "sich." And if she's not preparing HERSELF for something, then what is she preparing? Or did the writer just drop the "sich"?
Björn Vrooman Jul 11, 2023:
See the DWDS Don't have much time till later but:
"etw., sich vorbereiten
Beispiele:
eine Mahlzeit, ein Fest, das Essen, die Trauerfeier rüsten
gehobendie Tafel, ein Mahl, jmdm. ein Bad rüsten
die Stadt rüstet sich (= schickt sich an), die 900-Jahr-Feier ihrer Gründung zu begehen
...
etw., sich bereit machen, fertigmachen
Beispiele:
Gästezimmer, ein Bett, Nachtlager rüsten
sie rüsten sich zum Aufbruch, für eine Klettertour"
https://www.dwds.de/wb/rüsten

Don't see how this doesn't fit the context? She's going to get ready for a reunion, no?

Best

Proposed translations

+6
32 mins
Selected

get ready, prepare

I think this fits the context perfectly.

http://www.wordreference.com/deen/rüsten
Peer comment(s):
agree Steffen Walter
9 mins
agree AllegroTrans
4 hrs
agree Justin Verceles
7 hrs
agree seehand
13 hrs
agree Thayenga
17 hrs
neutral Adrian MM. : you and the others have missed the most important part of the Viennese idiom> zur Abreise....
17 hrs
As Andrew points out, the German doesn't say 'zur Abreise'. It's redundant.
agree Andrew Bramhall : The ' zur Abreise' part implicit in PG's answer, just as it is in the context; Mamma slowly getting round to preparing for a journey. Neither PG nor any of the above have missed anything, in fact.;
18 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you. Your answer, together with all of the comments made, definitely solved my problem!"
+1
18 hrs
German term (edited): rüsten, VIE

get set to leave ~ depart ~

In BrE> making herself fit to go ...

I have deliberately entered my London/Vienna location split, as past Austro~specific answers / see the second Gebäudeimmobilien weblink / arguably may have been unlocalised.

So query> Non-PRO !

Österreichisches Wörterbuch> rüsten > sich *zur Abreise* vorbereiten.
Example sentence:

The Österreichisches Wörterbuch (English: Austrian Dictionary), abbreviated ÖWB, is the official spelling dictionary of the German language in the Republic of Austria.

Reference:

http://www.proz.com/personal-glossaries/entry/859778-rüsten-sich-to-arm-oneself

http://www.proz.com/kudoz/german-to-english/real-estate/6841196-gebäudeimmobilien.html

Peer comment(s):
neutral AllegroTrans : earwigo again
5 hrs
agree M_T : I think this solution is more appropriate. When translating from Austrian German, one would be well advised to refer to Austrian dictionaries.
1 day 21 hrs
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