Learn English – What does “uber-word” mean in particular context (see body of question)

derivational-morphologymeaningneologisms

What does uber-word mean in the following context?

This question came up at Is "act like a mensch" too localized for ELU readers (U.S. and/or British English)?

Uber-word came up in this exchange:

English has always welcomed foreign jargon; it gives the locals
something new to grumble at.

You mean there’s no angst that imports from foreign jargon become
uber-words?

What I’ve tried so far: I looked up the definition of uber, and I asked my German spouse.

Best Answer

I don't think it is possible to know exactly what the commentator meant without asking him or her, but there are several possibilities. An uber-word could be:

  1. a superlative word (which was how I initially understood it)
  2. a trendy word (that pushes out the native one for a while)
  3. a "cuckoo" word that usurps all native words

It's this last one that I'm leaning towards at the moment, as this is how the taxi firm operates, and this is the most well known use of the word uber at the moment.