Random German Word of the Day: “Ammenmärchen” (n.) – this German word means “old wives’ tale” or “urban legend”.

The word “Amme” originally referred to any breastfeeding woman, and today means “wet nurse”. The word “Märchen” means “fairy tale”.

The term stems from the habit of 18th-century wet nurses of scaring the children they were taking care of to bed with creepy stories.

Interestingly, the German word “Hebamme” (“midwife”) is not at all related: It comes from “heben” (“to lift”) and “Ahnin” (“female ancestor”) – referring to the child’s grandmother.