Nachlass (, sometimes spelled
Nachlaß) is a
German word, used in
academia to describe the collection of manuscripts, notes, correspondence, and so on left behind when a scholar dies. The word is a
compound in German:
nach means 'after', and the verb
lassen means 'to leave'. The plural can be either
Nachlasse or (with
Umlaut)
Nachlässe. The word is not commonly used in English; and when it is, it is often italicized or printed in capitalized form to indicate its foreign provenance.