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.
whip
A whip, often with several straps, historically used for punishment, torture, or self-flagellation.
Im Mittelalter praktizierten einige religiöse Gruppen die Selbstgeißelung mit einer Geißel.
In the Middle Ages, some religious groups practiced self-flagellation with a whip.
flagellum
In biology, a threadlike, whip-like organelle that unicellular organisms or sperm cells use for movement. The technical term is flagellum.
Das Bakterium bewegt sich durch das Schlagen seiner Geißel fort.
The bacterium moves by beating its flagellum.
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.
