Daily AncestorAltersschwäche
Altersschwäche means "weakness of old age"; in a German death register it says an elderly person died of general decline rather than a named disease.
Altersschwäche was the usual entry when an old person simply wore out, much as English records wrote old age or debility. Medical writers of the time also called it Marasmus senilis.
It tells you little about the actual illness, but it does tell you the person was considered old. If the age in the same entry seems young for Altersschwäche, check the age against the baptism, since ages at death were often estimated by the family.
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How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Altersschwäche." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/german/altersschwaeche. Last checked 2026-10-28.