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Rie·fen·stahl

(rēfən-stäl′, -shtäl′), Helene Bertha Amalie Known as "Leni." 1902-2003.

German filmmaker who gained notoriety for the Nazi-sponsored documentaries she made in the 1930s, including Triumph of the Will (1935) and Olympia (1938), in which she made use of brilliant cinematic techniques to glorify Hitler and Nazi ideals.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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