Anlage

Forms

Anlage f (genitive Anlage, plural Anlagen)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German anlāge, a noun formed from anliegen and anlegen.^[2][3][4] The verb is Old High German analeggen (“to put on, lay on”) (8th century), from legen, the causative of liegen, also found in Gothic 𐌻𐌰𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 (lagjan) and lay.^[3] Kluge observes that its senses were largely shaped by those of Latin dispositio.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Middle High German anlâge is first recorded about 1280 in a Bavarian toll list, where it names a kind of iron sheet.^[5][6] About 1300 the Passional uses it for an urgent request, and Middle High German also knew the sense “ambush”.^[5][3]

Semantic evolution

From the 14th century Anlage meant a levy or tax, and in the 16th century this is almost its only sense, as in Luther;^[5][7][8] Paul links it with modern Veranlagung “tax assessment”.^[5][7][8] Early New High German also used it for an outbuilding, a fence, old mining tools and expenses.^[9] Adelung records it for an enclosure with a letter, for land deposited by a river and for the cheek-piece of a gun.^[10]

Kluge lists four modern senses: tax assessment, execution according to a plan, enclosure and hereditary disposition.^[2] The sense “natural talent, disposition” dates from Lessing and Wieland, and gave veranlagt and Veranlagung “talent”.^[8] The Grimms note the new public gardens laid out where old town walls had been removed, and Goethe writes drüben in den neuen Anlagen.^[7] Later came the investment of capital and technical installations such as factories and sanitäre Anlagen.^[8] English borrowed anlage in embryology (1892), and Polish anlaga (1913) for a part of a printing press.^[11]

Timeline

• About 1280 – anlâge names a kind of iron sheet in a Bavarian toll list.^[5]
• About 1300 – The Passional uses it for an urgent request.^[5]
• 1362 – First record of the sense “tax, levy”, in Low German.^[5]
• 16th century – “Tax” is almost the only sense.^[7]
• 18th century – Lessing and Wieland use it for natural talent.^[8]
• 1892 – English borrows anlage as a term of embryology.^[11]
• 1913 – Polish anlaga is recorded.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. The laying out, creation of something: Die Anlage des Parks dauerte zwei Jahre.^[12]
2. The investment of money, or an asset: Gold gilt als krisenfeste Anlage.^[12][1]
3. Grounds, park or buildings laid out for a purpose: Die Kinder spielen in den städtischen Anlagen.^[12][1]
4. An installation, plant or piece of equipment: Die Anlage schaltet sich nachts automatisch ab.^[12][1]
5. The layout, plan of a work: die Anlage eines Dramas.^[12]
6. A disposition or aptitude: Er hat eine Anlage zum Zeichnen.^[12][1]
7. (office) An enclosure with a letter, an attachment: In der Anlage schicke ich Ihnen meinen Lebenslauf.^[12][1]

Word family

• Grünanlage
• Kläranlage
• Stereoanlage
• Anlagevermögen

Related words

• anlegen
• anliegen
• Beilage
• legen

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 47
3. ^ a b c Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
4. ^ Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
5. ^ a b c d e f g Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob Grimm und Wilhelm Grimm, Neubearbeitung (1965–2018), ed. Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften and Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, 9 vols. (A–F), Leipzig / Stuttgart: Hirzel, p. 2, 1123
6. ^ Lexer, Matthias (1872–1878), Mittelhochdeutsches Handwörterbuch, 3 vols., Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities
7. ^ a b c d Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 1, 389
8. ^ a b c d e Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
9. ^ Anderson, Robert R.; Goebel, Ulrich; Reichmann, Oskar, eds. (1989–), Frühneuhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter; FWB-online, fwb-online.de
10. ^ Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf
11. ^ a b c Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de
12. ^ a b c d e f g Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag