scourge / whip / flagellum
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scourge
In a figurative sense, a person or thing that is perceived as a great evil, plague, or punishment for many people.
Die Korruption gilt als eine Geißel der modernen Gesellschaft.
Corruption is considered a scourge of modern society.
The meaning of 'Geißel' (scourge/whip/flagellum) depends heavily on the context. In literary or political texts it means a scourge or plague, in historical texts a whip, and in biological texts an organ used for movement.
Der Hunger war eine ständige Geißel für die Bevölkerung.
Hunger was a constant scourge for the population.
The figurative meaning as 'Plage' (plague/scourge) belongs to a very elevated, often literary or journalistic style. In normal everyday language, the word is hardly used with this meaning.
In seiner Rede bezeichnete der Präsident die Armut als Geißel der Gesellschaft.
In his speech, the president described poverty as a scourge of society.
In the figurative meaning, 'Geißel' (scourge) is very often combined with a genitive that specifies the evil more precisely. The structure is 'die Geißel + [noun in the genitive]'.
Der Drogenhandel ist eine Geißel vieler Großstädte.
Drug trafficking is a scourge of many major cities.
In a biological context, 'Geißel' (flagellum) is the German term for what is often called 'Flagellum' in international technical language. It describes the whip-like projection of cells.
Manche Einzeller besitzen mehr als eine Geißel zur Fortbewegung.
Some unicellular organisms have more than one flagellum for movement.
punishment / penalty
'die Strafe' and 'die Geissel' can both be connected with suffering or punishment, but they are used very differently. 'Strafe' is the normal word for a negative consequence after wrong behavior. In a figurative sense, 'Geissel' means a great evil or scourge that burdens many people. It can also refer to a whip that was formerly used for punishment. The words can be confused because 'Geissel' is sometimes perceived as a kind of punishment. In everyday language, 'Strafe' is almost always correct for concrete consequences; 'Geissel' sounds figurative, serious, and rather elevated.
Viele Menschen sehen die Armut als Geissel unserer Zeit.
Many people see poverty as a scourge of our time.
Nach dem Streit gab der Trainer dem Spieler eine Strafe.
After the argument, the coach gave the player a punishment.