Etymologically
Log in

Arzt

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 20 October 2026 at 18:29. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • [aːɐ̯tst], [aːts(t)], [aʁt͡st][1]

Forms

Arzt m (genitive Arztes or Arzts, plural Ärzte, feminine Ärztin)[1] The Middle High German plural was arzâte, shortened in verse to arzte; the umlauted plural Ärzte prevailed in the 17th century.[2][3] In Upper German the form artzet lasted beside arzt until the end of the 16th century, and later still in Swiss texts.[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German arzât, inherited from Old High German arzāt, borrowed from Medieval Latin archiater (“chief physician”), borrowed in pre-literary times.[4] Pfeifer gives the Medieval Latin spelling arciater beside Late Latin archiāter.[5][6] The Latin word is from Ancient Greek ἀρχίατρος (arkhíatros, “chief physician”), a compound of ἀρχι- (arkhi-, “chief”) and ἰατρός (iatrós, “physician”).[4][5][1] Kluge notes that Middle Dutch arsatere is closer to the Latin source form;[4][2] the Grimms note that the pronunciation of the Latin ⟨chi⟩ or ⟨ci⟩ brought in the hissing sound, as in Erzengel.[2] Lexer and the Grimms reject a derivation from Medieval Latin artista.[7][2] Dutch arts is from the High German word.[5][3]

The Greek word was the title of the court physicians of ancient rulers, first under the Seleucids at Antioch, then of the town and court physicians of the Roman Empire and the doctors at the court of the Merovingian Franks.[5][6] From the royal courts it passed to the physicians of other lords and in Old High German times became the general name of the profession.[6] It displaced the Germanic word, Old High German lāhhi, the same word as Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐌺𐌴𐌹𐍃 (lekeis), Old English lǣce and Old Norse læknir, and the ancestor of English leech.[4][5][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German arzāt “physician” is recorded in glosses, in Otfrid (863–871) and in Notker.[8][9] Köbler also gives the senses embalmer and dealer in ointments.[8]

Semantic evolution

Middle High German arzât meant a physician or healer.[10] In Early New High German times both the profession and the name were downgraded, beside the learned Doktor, as far as “quack”, but they were later valued again.[4] Duden notes that the word never became truly popular, unlike Doktor, borrowed in the 15th century.[6] Henisch in 1616 lists compounds such as Augenarzt, Ohrenarzt, Wundarzt and Zahnarzt.[11] The feminine Ärztin is recorded from the mid-17th century.[6] The verb verarzten, colloquial for “to treat, patch up”, dates from the early 20th century.[5][11] The word was borrowed into Slovene as arcat.[12]

Timeline

  • 863–871 – Otfrid uses Old High German arzāt.[8]
  • 15th century – Doktor is borrowed and becomes the popular word.[6]
  • 1586 – Dutch arts, from the High German word, is recorded.[12]
  • 1616 – Henisch lists Augenarzt, Zahnarzt and other compounds.[11]
  • 17th century – The umlauted plural Ärzte prevails;[3][6] Ärztin appears.[3][6]
  • 1929 – verarzten “to treat as a doctor would” is entered in the Duden.[11]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A doctor or physician: someone who, after studying medicine and clinical training, is licensed to treat the sick: Mit dem Fieber solltest du zum Arzt gehen.[13][1]

Word family

  • Ärztin
  • ärztlich
  • verarzten
  • Augenarzt
  • Hausarzt
  • Tierarzt
  • Wundarzt
  • Zahnarzt
  • Arznei
  • Erz-
  • Psychiater

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 1, 577
  3. ^ a b c d e 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, 322
  4. ^ a b c d e Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 64
  5. ^ a b c d e f Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 109
  7. ^ Lexer, Matthias (1872–1878), Mittelhochdeutsches Handwörterbuch, 3 vols., Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 1, 98
  8. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  9. ^ Schützeichel, Rudolf (2012), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 7th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 41
  10. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  11. ^ a b c d Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
  12. ^ a b Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de
  13. ^ Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag