What new meaning does "letztendlich" contribute?

Question

According to Google Ngram Viewer the word "letztendlich" is a very new invention in German language. Meanwhile this word is very present in all kinds of communication, be it formal or informal.

Is there any meaning this word has that an older term could not express?

I am asking because I believe this is a filler word that you can use to sound important without saying anything. "Ich denk mal letztendlich kommt es doch darauf an, dass man irgendwie grad mal eben eher mehr so das nicht wirklich Falsche tun müsste, um wirklich total nachhaltig gehandelt zu haben". Blabla. Typische Zeitverschwendung für den Zuhörer und "letztendlich" kommt letztendlich fast immer bei solchen Gelegenheiten vor. Es gibt keine anderen (diese Frage ausgenommen). Oder? (Useless stutter, a typical waste of time for the listener, and "letztendlich" always is a key part of such occasions (with this question being an exception). Right?)

So the question is:

What meaning does the young term "letztendlich" contribute that any other more classic term cannot express?

P.S.: The same seems to be true for "schlussendlich". This term is less popular, but has risen even steeper in last decade´s usage than "letztendlich".

Answer 1

A language is always changing. New words come, old words go. So it is not a question of what a new word contributes … just like in fashion.

I modified your n-gram to include letzten Endes. The result is very interesting. You can see an even faster rise of letzten Endes followed by a steady decline. Letztendlich is just hip at the moment. Maybe because it is shorter. Maybe because it has no Genetive. Maybe because it spares people the second of doubt as to whether to write it with a capital or not. However, chances are that letztendlich will have its peak someday and then a new star will be born.

At first I though it could be letztlich … but no … Google n-gram shows that it has overstayed its welcome already. But effektiv is to be watched out for ;)

Answer 2

"Letztendlich" of course can be used as a simple and meaningless filler. But it also can express the wish to bring an end to a long discussion as being "the final conclusion" and rendering everything said before less important.

Answer 3

You can say:

This book (that you need to read for the exam) has 500 pages, but of all those 500 pages, only this 1 is really relevant.

German translation would be

Dieses Buch hat 500 Seiten, aber letztendlich ist nur diese Seite wichtig.

So in this sense, it expresses that all the rest is negligible.

I suppose you could see it as some kind of operator-precedence.

For example you have a SQL-query:

SELECT * FROM WHATEVER_TABLE WHERE (1=1) 
AND CONDITION 1 
AND CONDITION 2
AND CONDITION 3
AND CONDITION 4
AND CONDITION 5
OR CONDITION 6

And because you forgot the bracket beween

AND 
(
    CONDITION 5
    OR 
    CONDITION 6
)

letztendlich, only condition 6 is relevant.