Lebensformn.
/ˈleɪb(ə)nzfɔːm/, /ˈleɪb(ə)nsfɔːm/, U.S. /ˈleɪbənsˌfɔrm/, /ˈleɪbənzˌfɔrm/ Chiefly Philosophy.
An aspect or type of human activity viewed as informed by a set of values, behaviours, etc., particular to the group or society in which that activity occurs; (gen.) a way of life.In later use associated particularly with Ludwig Wittgenstein's Philos. Investigations (1953).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > way of life > [noun] > specific
sheltered life1888
douceur de vivre1907
lifestyle1915
Lebensform1925
douceur de la vie1941
good life1954
alternative lifestyle1968
slow lane1972
champagne lifestyle1973
1925 Jrnl. Philos. 22 232 It may be that in reality the fundamental principle of science..can only dominate an empirical Lebensform up to a certain degree.
1937 G. W. Allport Personality viii. 231 These Lebensformen are at best only categories of value.
1959 Times Lit. Suppl. 11 Sept. 513/2 Mr. Stuart Hampshire in Thought and Action is aware of the scale of his undertaking. ‘It is necessary first’, he says, ‘to view the using of language as a particular form of human behaviour’ (Wittgenstein called it Lebensform).
1988 E. Lichtenberger in N. J. R. Allan et al. Human Impact on Mountains xvii. 220 Rural settlements are integrated, with new ‘lebensforms’ coming into existence, such as the ‘tourism farmer’ or the ‘second homes farmer’.
2011 G. T. Bakos On Faith, Rationality, & Other in Late Middle Ages i. 19 This faith has a Wittgensteinian aspect as belonging to a Lebensform.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1925