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Glite Dictionary
Wilhelm Grimm

Wilhelm Grimm

1 7.5
A German man who is the younger of two brothers who collected and published famous fairy tales
  • proper noun
: Wilhelm Grimm
  • Wilhelm Grimm and his brother compiled a famous collection of fairy tales now known worldwide.

Examples

  • Many scholars study how Wilhelm Grimm and his brother preserved German folklore.

  • The influence of Wilhelm Grimm can be seen in many of today's retellings of classic stories.

  • Wilhelm Grimm is famous.

  • Don't forget Wilhelm Grimm!

  • Wilhelm Grimm and his brother collected many folk tales, including 'Cinderella' and 'Hansel and Gretel.'

  • Scholars often credit Wilhelm Grimm with preserving essential elements of German mythology.

  • In literary studies, Wilhelm Grimm is recognized for his significant contributions to children's literature.

Surface Forms

Wilhelm Grimm main

Morphology

Wilhelm + Grimm

This is a personal name (a proper noun), not a compositional phrase; knowing the constituent tokens 'Wilhelm' and 'Grimm' does not let a B1 learner infer the biographical meaning (younger brother, collector of folk tales). The MWE requires encyclopedic/cultural knowledge rather than derivation from word meanings, so it is not transparent.

Etymology

Wilhelm Grimm was the younger of two German brothers who walked from village to village collecting old stories and writing them down with his brother Jacob. By turning these 'folk tales' into books, he helped make the 'fairy tales' we still know today.