die Auslage, -n

Meaning in English

Auslage has two common meanings:

1. Display / shop window display

   • What is laid out or presented for customers to see, especially in a store window or display case.
   • English: display, window display, showcase (contents)

2. Expense paid in advance / outlay

   • Money someone pays upfront (often for someone else or for a business purpose) and can later reclaim.
   • English: outlay, advance payment, expense (advanced), disbursement

Parts / Word formation

• From the verb auslegen:
  • aus- = out
  • legen = to lay / put
• So Auslage is literally something “laid out”:
  • either laid out for viewing (display),
  • or laid out in money (paid out in advance).

German synonyms

1) Display meaning

• Schaufenster (often: the window itself, but also used for what’s in it)
• Schaufensterauslage
• Präsentation
• Ausstellung (more like an exhibition; not always in a shop context)

2) Expense / outlay meaning

• Vorschuss (advance; not always an expense, can be money given ahead)
• Vorleistung (advance performance/payment)
• Ausgaben (expenses in general; broader)
• Aufwand (effort/expense; broader and not necessarily reimbursable)
• Unkosten (costs/expenses; somewhat informal, sometimes disliked in formal writing)

German antonyms (where applicable)

1) Display meaning

• No fixed single antonym; depending on context:
  • Einräumen (putting away) or Verstauen (stowing away) as opposites of laying out.

2) Expense / outlay meaning

• Einnahme(n) (income / receipts)
• Erstattung (reimbursement; “getting money back” as the opposite direction of paying out)

Notes on usage

• The expense meaning is often used in plural: „die Auslagen“ = expenses/out-of-pocket costs (to be reimbursed).
• Typical phrases:
  • „Auslagen erstatten“ = reimburse expenses
  • „etwas in die Auslage legen“ = put something on display