floor 'ground'

[Chris Waigl]

On 26 Sep 2014, at 08:18, Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at GMAIL.COM> wrote:

> Just to add a tidbit for sources of confusion, the German word Deckung
> means ceiling. (I wonder whether the deck of a ship was originally a cover
> to protect storage areas from the elements.)

Just to give a bit more detail here, DE Deckung (n. f.) means cover, mostly in “Deckung nehmen”, to take cover. The ceiling of a room is called Decke (n. f.), which also means blanket or duvet. Whereas a duvet cover would be called Bezug (n. m.). A floor cover would be called Bodenbelag (n. m.). Floor and ground both translate to Boden (n. m.) . Boden can also be a clipping of Dachboden (gloss roof-floor), that is the attic. 


> I am surprised no one has brought up the concept of the "ground floor",
> which is the 1st floor in the US and the 0th floor in the rest of the world.

Well, it’s the floor closest to the ground. 

Chris

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