übrig

Forms

übrig (strong nominative masculine singular übriger, not comparable)^[1] The three-syllable form überig of the older language lived on in dialects and occasionally in the written language until the 18th century.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German überec, a derivative from Middle High German über + -ec, first in the sense “going beyond the measure”, then “left over as a remainder”; it is recorded from the 13th century.^[3][4] The same formation is Middle Low German overich and Middle Dutch overich, with modern Dutch overig.^[3][1]

The base über goes back to Old High German ubar; its umlaut comes from the Old High German adverb ubari.^[5] It continues Proto-Indo-European *upér (“over, above”), as in Ancient Greek ὑπέρ (hupér, “over, beyond”) and Latin super (“above”).^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Middle High German überec, überic is recorded from the 13th century.^[3][7] An early example in the sense “extra, excessive” is the Marienburg treasurer's book (1399–1409), paying a carpenter vor oberige arbeit “for extra work”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The older sense “superfluous, excessive” is now dated;^[8] Luther writes of those who gave von ihrem Übrigen “of their abundance”.^[8] It survives in ein Übriges tun “to do more than is required”, a phrase of 16th-century theological language, originally of doing more than God demands.^[5][8]

The sense “left as a remainder” became the main one, and in die übrigen it has weakened to “the other”.^[8] Im übrigen “otherwise, besides” dates from the 17th century, and übrigens arose at the end of the 17th century, probably after erstens; from “as for the rest” it became a particle meaning “by the way”.^[5][8] erübrigen “to save, spare”, reflexively “to be unnecessary”, comes from the chancery language of the mid-16th century.^[5] The word was borrowed into the Polish dialect of Cieszyn as ibryczny “in reserve”.^[9]

Timeline

• 13th century – Middle High German überec is first recorded.^[3]
• 1399–1409 – oberige arbeit “extra work” in the Marienburg treasurer's book.^[2]
• 16th century – ein Übriges tun appears in theological language.^[5]
• Mid-16th century – erübrigen appears.^[5]
• 1678 – Kramer records im übrigen “otherwise”.^[8]
• End of the 17th century – übrigens appears.^[5][8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (attributive) remaining, the rest of; the other: die übrigen Besucher.^[4][1]
2. (predicative) Left over, spare: Vom Brot ist nichts mehr übrig.^[4][1]
3. (rare) superfluous.^[4]

Word family

• übrigens
• übrigbleiben
• erübrigen

Related words

• über

Usage notes

Fixed phrases include für jemanden etwas übrig haben “to have a soft spot for someone”, nichts zu wünschen übrig lassen “to leave nothing to be desired”, jemandem bleibt nichts anderes übrig “someone has no other choice” and im Übrigen “besides”.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 23, 697
3. ^ a b c d Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 939
4. ^ a b c d e Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
7. ^ Lexer, Matthias (1872–1878), Mittelhochdeutsches Handwörterbuch, 3 vols., Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 2, 1613
8. ^ a b c d e f g Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
9. ^ Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de