Kraft

The English word "craft" once meant power or strength, a cousin to the German Kraft. While English let that sense of "craft" drift towards skill and cunning, German held on tight to the original meaning. Kraft is raw power, physical or otherwise. It is the strength in Willenskraft (willpower) and the might in Wehrkraft (military strength). From this solid, earthy core, German builds an astonishing array of ideas. We speakers of English do this too, of course; a "fireman" is a man who fights fire. But we often stop there. Where we might say "charisma," reaching for a Greek word meaning "divine gift," German builds it from its own parts: Ausstrahlungskraft, the power (Kraft) that radiates (Ausstrahlung) outwards. Where we speak of "imagination," a Latin import, German sees Einbildungskraft, the power to form a picture inside one's mind. It's a different way of thinking about where ideas come from. For English, they often arrive from abroad, as esteemed guests. For German, they are often built right at home, from the sturdy, reliable materials already on hand.