Schadenfreude borrows a German compound of Schaden, damage, and Freude, joy. The combination describes pleasure at another person’s misfortune.
The two German nouns explain the formation. The borrowed English word can appear with either initial capitalization.
Sources
- Merriam-Webster: schadenfreude
Word History glosses both nouns; the definition supplies the combined meaning and the headword records capitalization variation.
- Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache · Schadenfreude
Meanings of the older forms on the word path.