Talk:nazi

This had been listed as an abbreviation. It's not.

First, it's not an abbreviation in English. German shortened Nationalsozialist to Nazi, then English borrowed it.

Second, it isn't an abbreviation in German either. "Fr." for "Frau" is an abbreviation. "Nazi", like "Wessie" for "West Deutschlander" or (arguably) "Ku-Dam" for "Kurfurstendam", is not properly an abbreviation, any more than "Zoo" is an abbreviation for "Zoological Garden". -dmh 05:10, 11 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I chose "Adjective" over "Attributive Noun" because the noun form has the specific meaning "party member" while the adjectival form is used more broadly. E.g., "Nazi propaganda" doesn't mean "propaganda to do with a member of the Nazi party". -dmh 05:19, 11 Nov 2004 (UTC)


 * I'm not sure that I agree on what is and isn't an abbreviation. It certainly the case that Nationalsozialist was abbreviated to Nazi. But maybe that belongs in the etymology section?
 * I would agree that this particular word is an adjective in English though it's always a tough call. &mdash; Hippietrail 06:16, 11 Nov 2004 (UTC)


 * High-order bit: In English it's a Noun, not an abbreviation. As to abbreviation, there are several entries (none come to mind at the moment, though) that are classified as "shortenings", and I believe that Nazi would qualify.  An abbreviation tends to be marked as such, either by capitals, a period or an apostrophe (that's why I waffled on Ku-Dam: it also comes up as Ku'Dam). I'm not sure that's actually quite the right rule, but "Wessie" and "Trabi" and so forth in German have more the flavor of a bona fide grammatical construct.  Aha, here's the distinction: An abbreviation is a device to make writing easier. E.g., "Mr." is still pronounced "Mister".  Shortenings happen in speech, and may or may not be reflected in formal writing. -dmh 13:33, 11 Nov 2004 (UTC)


 * I agree that "Nazi" is not an abbreviation in English but was surely borrowed after the shortening. The terms "Wessie" and "Trabi" are grammatical, they are known as diminutives. It's an unpleasant thought but perhaps "Nazi" did start off as a diminutive! &mdash; Hippietrail 04:30, 12 Nov 2004 (UTC)

"Nazi" is a shortform for "Nationalsozialist". There is a analogy between "Nazi" and "Sozi". "Sozi" is a shortform for "Sozialist". "Nazi" in German is not representing pronunciation of Nati in Nationalsozialist. "Nazi" is not a diminutive in Germany. It is what you call a "abbreviation". By the way "Wessi", a shortform for "Westdeutsche", and "Trabi" (also Trabbi), a shortform for "Trabant", are not "diminutives". Please visit the german part of wikipedia.org for more informations.

Fascist is not a synonim for Nazi
Fascism was an Italian political movement which involved nacionalism, but also other principles not related no Nazism (which remember, is a shortening for National Socialism), the most not related being its antisocialism.

So, Fascist is NOT a synonim for Nazi. They were members of different political parties/movements. The fact that nazies and fascists had good relationships doesn't make them being the same thing.

Strange def
(adj) Consisting of Nazis.

What was meant here? DAVilla 05:47, 10 July 2008 (UTC)