Umwelt

Alternative forms

• umwelt

Etymology

From German Umwelt (“environment”). More at um-, Welt.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʊmvɛlt/

Noun

Umwelt (plural Umwelts or Umwelten)

1. One's surroundings or environment; the outer world as perceived by organisms within it.
   • 1979, Kyril Bonfiglioli, “After You with the Pistol”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):

     It seems that these S-E-A-Values are all about what ethnologists call the Umwelt — the area of alarm around members of the brute creation, such as human beings.

   • 1990 October 7, S. J. Bodio, A. Shilstone, “Pigeon Racing: Homing in on an 'invisible' sport”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), volume 21, number 7, pages 80, 10p:

     Still, a pigeon's worldview -- its Umwelt, ...

   • 2006, Chris Arthur, “Empty Room”, in Southwest Review, volume 91, number 3, pages p295-312, 18p:

     ... a fragment snipped from the perplexing umwelt of Homo sapiens, our innumerable temporary enclosures.

Etymology

From um- +‎ Welt.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʊmvɛlt/

• Audio (Austria)

  (file)

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

Umwelt f (genitive Umwelt, plural Umwelten)

1. environment; milieu; surroundings
2. environment; ecosystem

Further reading

• Umwelt in Duden online