Stegreif

Meaning

1. (masculine, often, strong) improvisation, impromptu
2. (masculine, obsolete, strong) stirrup

Concepts

impromptu

improvisation

instant

offhand

off the cuff

improvization

without a score

off the top of one’s head

Synonyms

Improvisation

aus dem Handgelenk

ohne weiteres

auf eine rücksichtslose Weise

Translations

impromptu

improvisation

improvisé

instantané

au premier abord

sans façon

sans préparation

primesautierère

pied levé

espontáneamente

hazırlıksız olarak

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈʃteːkˌʁaɪ̯f/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle High German: stegereif

Inherited from Old High German: stegareif

Cognate with English: stirrup

In summary

From Middle High German stegereif (“stirrup”), from Old High German stegareif (“stirrup”), from stegōn (“to ascend”, related with stīgan, whence modern steigen) + reif (“rope, ring”, whence modern Reif). Cognate with English stirrup.
The contemporary sense is from the idea of someone going to task “from the stirrup”, that is immediately after their arrival and without further arrangements. Speakers now often reanalyse the word as stehen (“to stand”) + greifen (“to grab”), that is “something nearby that one grabs wherever one is standing”. Hence the common pronunciation (see below) and the frequent misspelling Stehgreif.