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What are German “Keilabsatz” and “Pfennigabsatz” heels?

German names heel types more precisely than English does. Pfennigabsatz is “stiletto heel,” literally “penny heel,” named after the small Pfennig coin (the smallest denomination of pre-Euro German currency). Where English borrows the Italian “stiletto,” German just builds the word from Pfennig (penny) and Absatz (heel).

The same compound machinery gives you Keilabsatz (wedge heel), Blockabsatz (block heel), Hochzeitsschuhe (wedding shoes), Schuhcreme (shoe polish). German vocabulary looks intimidating but is often guessable: if you know the parts, you know the word. Once Absatz is in your head, you can parse a whole German shoe shop on first read.