Blitz, the German word for lightning, and often used figuratively as in blitzschnell (as fast as lightning), may mean any of a number of things in English:

• Blitzkrieg, the "lightning war" strategy of WWII Germany
• The Blitz, the German aerial attacks on Britain in WWII
• Baedeker Blitz, the reprisal bombing of strategically unimportant but picturesque British cities
• Blitz (American football), a defensive maneuver in American football
• Blitz (NFL Mascot), the mascot of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks
• Blitz chess, a chess game allowing only 5 minutes for each player
• Blitz Games, British computer games company
• Blitz BASIC, a dialect of the BASIC programming language
• Blitz (game), a card game
• Blitz (Computer Game), a bombing game for the Commodore PET
• Blitz may also refer to the alter-ego of the character George in the web comic Bob and George
• out of production truck models by Opel and Bedford Trucks/Buses
• BlitzMail is the name of the internal e-mail network at Dartmouth College
• Blitz (magazine) is a student publication that is run by the Source on the University of New South Wales campus in Sydney, Australia
• Blitz (newspaper) is a Portuguese music newspaper.
• Blitz! (musical), a musical by Lionel Bart based on The Blitz
• Blitz (band), an early oi! band. ^*
• Blitz, nickname for both Ford and Chevrolet Canadian Military Pattern trucks made for use in WW2 ^*
• Blitz, a 1980s night club in London, see Blitz Kids
• Blitz, a camera accessory commonly known as a flash

In English, blitz is also used as a verb, meaning to attack something rapidly, usually in a bathetic sense, as with 'nuke' or 'exterminate', i.e. one might 'blitz' housework, lunch, or ants. For political reasons, military commanders avoid the terms 'blitz' and 'blitzkrieg' when referring to actual military operations.

Blitz in German

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The term Blitz (literal translation: lightning) is used in the German language for "extraordinary": like "blitzschnell" for extraordinarily fast, "blitzsauber" for extraordinarily clean, "blitzgescheit" for extraordinarily smart. Today these words have started sounding a bit outdated. Another common use is "wie ein Blitz einschlagen" striking like a lightning/bolt, a phrase for something material or non-material reaching the people unexpectedly, quickly and surprisingly like a new product with extraordinary success or totally unexpected news. Blitz also refers to the Germanic god Thor. Germanic mythology gained some importance during the Third Reich.

German loanwords

Blitz (Begriffsklärung) | Blitz | Blitz (andre betydninger)