Aufgabe

Forms

Aufgabe f (genitive Aufgabe, plural Aufgaben)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German ūfgābe, the noun of ūfgëben, modern aufgeben.^[1][2][3] Middle Low German has upgāve.^[2] The verb is formed from auf and geben, which is Old High German geban, from Proto-Germanic *gebaną (“to give”), the same word as Gothic 𐌲𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌽 (giban), Old Norse gefa and Old English giefan.^[3][4]

The further origin of the verb is not certain.^[3] It is usually connected with Latin habeō (“to have, hold”), Old Irish gaibid (“takes, seizes”) and Lithuanian gabénti (“to convey”), from a root Proto-Indo-European *gʰabʰ- (“to seize, take”);^[3][5] Pfeifer explains the opposite meaning by a Germanic new formation that took the place of the inherited verb for “give” and was shaped as the counterpart of nehmen.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Middle High German noun is recorded from 1290 in charters, for the formal handing over of property before a court of aldermen.^[2] From 1333 it also means renunciation, as of a benefice.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The senses of the noun follow those of the verb.^[3][6] In military language it was the surrender of a besieged town (1573), and later the handing in of a letter (Campe, 1807) or a telegram.^[2] The sense “problem set for solution” is recorded in 1533, of a riddle Samson could not solve, and in 1716 Christian Wolff defines the solution of a mathematical Aufgabe; from this came the sense “task, duty”.^[2][3] Danish opgave is a calque of the word and Dutch opgave took over its sense, and English borrowed Aufgabe in 1902 as a term of psychology for an experimental task.^[1][7]

Timeline

• 1290 – ufgab “handing over of property” in a charter.^[2]
• 1333 – uffgobe “renunciation”.^[2]
• 1533 – First record of the sense “problem, riddle”.^[2]
• 1573 – “Surrender” of a fortress.^[2]
• 1716 – Christian Wolff uses it for a mathematical problem.^[2]
• 1807 – Campe records the handing in of a letter.^[2]
• 1902 – English borrows Aufgabe in psychology.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. The handing in of something for dispatch or storage: die Aufgabe des Koffers am Schalter.^[8][9]
2. A task, duty or function: es ist seine Aufgabe, die Gäste zu begrüßen.^[8][1]
3. A problem to be solved: eine knifflige Aufgabe.^[8][1]
4. (usually plural) Homework for school: die Kinder sitzen über ihren Aufgaben.^[8][1]
5. An arithmetic exercise.^[8]
6. The giving up of something, such as resistance, a fight, plans or a business: die Aufgabe der Bäckerei fiel ihr schwer.^[8][1]
7. (sports, especially volleyball) The serve.^[8]

Related words

• Abgabe
• Angabe
• aufgeben
• Beigabe
• Hingabe
• Übergabe
• Vergabe
• Vorgabe
• Gabe
• geben

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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, 497
3. ^ a b c d e f g Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
4. ^ Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. 4, 112
5. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
6. ^ Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf
7. ^ a b Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de
8. ^ a b c d e f g Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
9. ^ Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org