Word Confusion: Laager vs Lager vs Logger

Posted July 3, 2017 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
14 Jan 2023

The useful bit about these three word confusions being heterographslaager vs lager vs logger — is that at least one knows how to pronounce lager and laager. Although, I suppose if you have a few too many lagers, you shouldn’t run out to be a logger or build that laager.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

If you found this post on “Laager vs Lager vs Logger” interesting, consider subscribing to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this post for future updates.

Return to top

Laager Lager Logger

An old map showing the battle plan for Kambula with a laager

Battle of Kambula Map by Archibald Forbes, Arthur Griffiths, and others is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.


A shelf of bottled Budweiser beers

Bud and Budvar is by Dorisall at English Wikipedia under the GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0 licenses, via Wikimedia Commons.

Budweiser is a popular lager.


A logger in hard hard, jeans, and flannel shirt standing by a few logs and an office building

A Lumberjack at the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show is Wknight94’s own work under the GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0 licenses, via Wikimedia Commons.

A logger standing by some logs.

Part of Grammar:
Noun;
Verb, intransitive & transitive

Plural for the noun: laagers
Gerund: laagering

Third person present verb: laagers
Past tense or past participle: laagered
Present participle: laagering

Variant spelling for lager

Noun 1, 2;
Verb, intransitive 1

Plural for the noun: lagers
Gerund: lagering

Third person present verb: lagers
Past tense or past participle: lagered
Present participle: lagering

Variant spelling for laager

Noun 1, 2

Plural: loggers

Noun:
[South African; historical] A camp or encampment formed by a circle of wagons

An entrenched position or viewpoint that is defended against opponents

[Military] A place where armored vehicles are parked

Verb, intransitive:
[South African; historical] Make camp

Verb, transitive:
[South African; historical] Form vehicles into a camp

A.k.a., lager beer


Noun:
A beer stored from six weeks to six months for aging before use 1

A light-bodied effervescent beer, fermented in a closed vessel using yeasts that sink to the bottom of the brew 2

Verb, transitive:
To age beer, usually by storing in tanks at just-below freezing temperatures for several weeks or months 1

Noun:
A person who fells trees for timber 1

  • A lumberjack

A tractor used in logging

A machine for loading logs

A device or computer program for making a systematic recording of events, observations, or measurements

One who enters data in a log 2

Examples:
Noun:
Get those horses inside the laager.

I don’t trust any one news outlet, as they’re each in their own political laager.

Form up the laager. We’re camping here tonight.

Trump’s mind is its own laager.

Verb, intransitive:
Laager ’round, boys.

We laagered for the night.

The troops crossed the river to laager for the night.

Verb, transitive:
Van Rensburg’s wagons were not laagered, but scattered about.

Laager the camp!

For more protection, let’s laager two rings.

Noun:
I do enjoy a cold lager in the summer, otherwise I prefer ales and stouts.

Some of the German lagers include pilsner, Bock, Märzen, and Schwarzbier.

Lagers are the world’s most popular beers.

Verb, transitive:
We’ve been lagering this batch for the past two months.

“Centuries of lagering brought about a new strain of yeast, one that thrives at colder temperatures” (Lager).

Lagering beer makes it clearer and cleaner-tasting.

How many loggers ya got on this crew?

Pull that logger around and get these logs loaded.

Sorry, boss, but the logger is in maintenance.

A logger is a command line utility that can send messages to the syslog in your computer.

Be careful you don’t have a keystroke logger installed in your computer!

Most loggers are data entry clerks.

Derivatives:
Noun: loggerhead
History of the Word:
Afrikaans, 1840-50, from the Dutch leger or lager meaning camp.
  1. 1835-45, short for lager beer in a half adoption, half translation of the German Lagerbier.
  2. Mid-19th century from the German Lagerbier meaning beer stored for keeping, from Lager meaning storehouse.
  1. An Americanism dating back to 1725-35, log + -er.
  2. 1958.

Return to top

C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

Return to top

Resources for Laager vs Lager vs Logger

Apple Dictionary.com

Dictionary.com: scutch, logger

“Lager: I Do Not Think That Word Means What You Think It Means.” Lagering – Chapter 1: Common Misconceptions. Homebrewing.org. n.d. Web. n.d. <http://www.homebrewing.org/Lagering–Chapter-1-Common-Misconceptions_ep_58-1.html>.

Return to top

Pinterest Photo Credits:

Forstarbeiter, Studentenbrigade, from Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-1982-0728-004, which is under the CC BY-SA 3.0 de license and Bud Beer by Algont from nl is under the GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0 licenses; both via Wikimedia Commons.

Kathy's KD Did It signature