Old scientific German

Question

This sentence is from a 19th century Handbuch (famously called Beilstein Handbuch der Organischen Chemie):

Die Glykoside werden durch Ausziehen der Pflanzenstoffe u.s.w. mit Wasser oder Alkohol dargestellt. Mit in Lösung gegangene Nebenstoffe (Gerbsäuren u. s. w.) lassen sich durch Ausfällen mit Bleizucker entfernen. Das vom Bleiniederschlage befreite Filtrat wird durch H₂S entbleit und dann eingedampft.

As usual the combinations "Das von dem" are pretty difficult for learners. One noun is also missing. If I try to translate:

The filtrate, from which (=von dem) the lead precipitate is removed, is through H₂S de-leaded (i.e., lead is removed) and then evaporated.

Question: Is my assumption correct that Das is referring to Filtrat, but the noun should have -e, -er ending?

Why DeepL or Google show odd translations?

• GT:

  The filtrate freed from the lead precipitate is de-fused by H₂S and then evaporated.

• DL:

  The filtrate freed from lead precipitation is deflated by H₂S and then evaporated.

Where is deflated and de-fused coming from?

Answer 1

You are essentially asking:

"Is my assumption correct that Das is referring to Filtrat, but the noun should have -e, -er ending?"

Regarding das: yes, indeed, it refers to Filtrat just as you assume.

Regarding the morphology of Filtrat: No, here you err. The noun Filtrat is perfectly fine so. You could only add an (old-fashioned) -e if it was in dative case, e.g.

Das vom Filtrat(e) gereinigte Filterpapier werfe man in den Ofen. Dem Filtrat(e) selbst wende man dann seine ganze Aufmerksamkeit zu. Vor dem Bleisalz(e) hüte man sich, denn es vermag dem Leib(e) dauerhaften Schaden zuzufügen. Dem Mann(e) wie dem Weib(e) sei darum zu äußerster Vorsicht geraten, sowohl auf dem Land(e) wie auf dem Meer(e).

(I am playing a bit with the old way of speaking/writing in these old scholarly books.)

If you did not notice: the -e suffix in dative case applies to (monosyllabic) male and neuter nouns. It is not applicable for female nouns. It is not applicable to plurisyllabic nouns, so not: vor dem Bleizuckere (!) hüte man sich, but only vor dem Bleizucker hüte man sich.

But in nominative case there is no way of adding an -e.

(But note commenter Uwe's sharp observation that Filtrat is anyway duosyllabic... hm... perhaps an extraordinary exception?)

For adding an -er: I even cannot guess what makes you think this could be a thing to do. Filtrater? Why?

A list of other words that can carry -e in dativ case without sounding too unfaniliar (but it always will sound either old-style or poetic or manieristic):

• dem Hunde
• dem Huhne
• zum Bade
• zum Gruße
• zum Loche
• dem Fuchse
• dem Monde
• im Buche
• im Stalle
• am Stande verkauft die Marktfrau dem Kinde eine Melone
• am Rande
• vom Fleische
• zum Lichte dränget doch alles
• im Grabe
• ...

Interestingly not acceptable (i.e. sounding too unfamiliar, at least to me)

• dem Marse (dem Monde, yes, but the male monosylabic Mars does not tolerate -e, or at least it sounds silly)

• dem Hanse gab der Franz eine schallende Ohrfeige

Working hypothesis: proper names do not like -e (?)