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bildung

noun, feminine singular nominative

1. education
2. formation, development
3. culture, refinement
4. image, figure (archaic)

Built from

• bild — root · form, shape
  Cognate with English "build" and "image." Carries the concrete sense of giving form to something.
• -ung — ending · nominalization
  Converts the verb into an abstract noun denoting the process or result of forming.

Etymology. From Middle High German bildunge, derived from bilden (to form, shape, image). The root bild- relates to Old High German bilida (image, form) and English "build." Originally meant "forming" or "shaping," then extended to intellectual development and cultural refinement.

Dictionary entry by Claude.

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