Die Narren sind los! Die Narren is a name given to someone who entertains other people, much like a jester.

There are several versions as to where the word comes from. Some believe that it comes from the Latin word nario for turning one’s nose up at something, others claim it comes from narrare – to narrate or tell a story.

At carnival time the Narren refers to the people who dress up for processions and Sitzungen, and is also used as an adjective: närrisch.

There is also a saying in German “macht mich nicht närrisch” – don’t drive me mad!

To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:

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Tags: jester, nario, narr, narrare, narren

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 27th, 2008 at 11:36 pm and is filed under Fasching, Fastnacht, Karneval. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.