übrig
Pronunciation
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
- (attributive) remaining, the rest of; the other: die übrigen Besucher.[4][1]
- (predicative) Left over, spare: Vom Brot ist nichts mehr übrig.[4][1]
- (rare) superfluous.[4]
Word family
- übrigens
- übrigbleiben
- erübrigen
Related words
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
- ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c d Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 939
- ^ a b c d e Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
- ^ 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
- ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
- ^ Lexer, Matthias (1872–1878), Mittelhochdeutsches Handwörterbuch, 3 vols., Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 2, 1613
- ^ 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
- ^ Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de