Do you speak a little German when you say 'ersatz'?

'Ersatz' is a word borrowed from German 'ersatz'. The word entered the English language some time around 1875.

ersatz [adjective] [1875]

Being a usually artificial and inferior substitute or imitation

See 'ersatz' on the Loan Words Map

See more loan words from German.

Etymology: German 'ersatz-' from 'Ersatz' noun, substitute

See more loan words from 1800s.