Anteil

Forms

Anteil m (genitive Anteils or Anteiles, plural Anteile)^[1] In older German it was also neuter, and it was spelled Antheil.^[2][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German anteil, formed from Middle High German ane + teil, beside Middle Low German andêil.^[2][3][1]

Teil is Old High German teil, from Proto-Germanic *dailiz (“part”), also in Gothic 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻𐍃 (dails) and Old English dǣl, continued in English deal and Dutch deel.^[4][5][6] Outside Germanic only Old Church Slavonic дѣлъ (dělŭ) matches the form exactly, and it could be a loan from Germanic.^[4] Lithuanian dalìs lacks the diphthong, and Ancient Greek δαίομαι (daíomai, “I divide”) has a different initial.^[4] Pfeifer considers a root Proto-Indo-European *dā(i)- (“to divide, cut up”) or a source in a substrate language.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is first recorded in a charter of 1269 about ir anteilis des silbirs (“her share of the silver”).^[2] It began as a legal term for the part of a divided whole that falls to one person, especially a share of an inheritance.^[2][7][8]

Semantic evolution

Paul dates the legal word to 1332, and later usage extended it to a share in a business.^[7][2] In the 18th century it was transferred to the mind, as “interest, sympathy”, probably through the phrase Anteil nehmen an, which corresponds to French prendre intérêt à and is recorded by Frisch in 1741.^[7] Goethe's Werther is chided for taking too warm an interest (Anteil) in everything.^[7] The derivative anteilig meant “compassionate” as early as 1387, though today it means “proportional”.^[7]

Timeline

• 1269 – Anteil appears in a charter.^[2]
• 1332 – Paul's first record of the legal term.^[7]
• 1387 – antailig “compassionate” is recorded.^[7]
• 1741 – Frisch records Anteil nehmen an.^[7]
• 1774 – Adelung quotes Ich nehme an eurem Glücke den aufrichtigsten Anteil.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A share or portion of a whole, especially the part due to or owned by someone: Sie verzichtete auf ihren Anteil am Gewinn.^[9][1]
2. A stake in the capital of a company.^[9]
3. (no plural) Participation, interest, sympathy: Anteil an etwas nehmen is to take part in it, or to show interest in or sympathy with it.^[9][7]

Word family

• Anteilnahme
• anteilig
• Erbanteil
• Gewinnanteil

Related words

• Teil
• teilen
• English deal

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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. 3, 6
3. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
4. ^ a b c Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 911
5. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
8. ^ Anderson, Robert R.; Goebel, Ulrich; Reichmann, Oskar, eds. (1989–), Frühneuhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter; FWB-online, fwb-online.de
9. ^ a b c Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag