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ArchivesRe: Edelweiß does NOT mean "alpine star" (m)
in reply to a message by Dorchadas
The word "Edelweiß" means the flower also known in English as "Alpine Star", "Lions Foot" and "Snow flower". Thus Edelweiß does mean "Alpine star", but is more normally translated into English as Edelweiss.
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Just because those are the English names for the flower, does not mean that Edelweiß (alternatively written as Edelweiss in some languages, such as Dutch, English and French) actually has that meaning. To say "Edelweiß means 'alpine star'" implies that that is the English meaning of the flower's German name, which is incorrect. The only correct way to link "alpine star" to the name, is to say something along the lines of "The Edelweiß flower is known as the Alpine Star in English" - this doesn't suggest direct translation from German and recognises that the flower has a different (and etymologically unrelated) name in English.
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I think it's safe to say the flower "Edelweiss" translates into the flower "Alpine Star". Maybe the OP could have described that better, but it isnýt wrong. Alpine Star was capitalized, which suggested to flower to me.
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