Aufgabe
Pronunciation
- /ˈaʊ̯fˌɡaːbə/, [ʔaʊ̯fˌɡaː.bə][1]
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
- The handing in of something for dispatch or storage: die Aufgabe des Koffers am Schalter.[8][9]
- A task, duty or function: es ist seine Aufgabe, die Gäste zu begrüßen.[8][1]
- A problem to be solved: eine knifflige Aufgabe.[8][1]
- (usually plural) Homework for school: die Kinder sitzen über ihren Aufgaben.[8][1]
- An arithmetic exercise.[8]
- The giving up of something, such as resistance, a fight, plans or a business: die Aufgabe der Bäckerei fiel ihr schwer.[8][1]
- (sports, especially volleyball) The serve.[8]
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ 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
- ^ 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
- ^ 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
- ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
- ^ Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf
- ^ a b Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de
- ^ a b c d e f g Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
- ^ Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org