Etymologically
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Diskussion

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Pronunciation

  • /dɪskʊˈsjoːn/[1]

Forms

Diskussion f (genitive Diskussion, plural Diskussionen, diminutive Diskussiönchen n)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin discussiō (“examination”), in Classical Latin “a shaking”, the action noun of discutiō (“to strike apart, shatter, (Late Latin) to examine, discuss”).[2][3][4] That verb is formed from Latin dis- + quatiō (“to shake, strike”).[2][5] The Duden dictionary connects the Latin verb with schütten.[5] The verb diskutieren was borrowed in the 16th or early 17th century, probably through French discuter.[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first records are legal: the revised Grimm dictionary quotes Perneder's handbook of court procedure of 1532, which says the reasons for nullity often need a closer discussion “examination”; the German Dictionary of Foreign Words dates the same passage 1543.[6][3] In older legal language the word also named the court proceedings of a bankruptcy (1714).[6]

Semantic evolution

The word was rare until the beginning of the 18th century, when it became frequent in the modern sense “exchange of opinions, argument about a contested subject”.[3][2] Lessing in 1769 hoped his conjecture would at least prompt eine nähere discussion.[6] In the 20th century the senses “talk, exchange of views” and “public debate” increased greatly, especially in political life, beside Debatte and Diskurs.[6][3]

Timeline

  • 1532 – First record in Perneder's legal handbook.[6]
  • 1700 – An early record of the sense “friendly exchange of views”.[3]
  • 1714 – The legal sense “bankruptcy proceedings” in Westphalian town law.[6]
  • 1769 – Lessing uses it of a scholarly exchange.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A discussion, an exchange of opinions among several people on a subject, often with a chair: nach dem Referat folgte eine lange Diskussion.[4][1]
  2. An argument between individuals about questions that concern them: er wollte sich auf keine Diskussion einlassen.[4]
  3. Public debate in the press, on television or among the population: die Diskussion über die Rente.[4][7]

Word family

  • Diskussionsleiter

Usage notes

Etwas zur Diskussion stellen is to put something up for discussion, and zur Diskussion stehen is to be under discussion.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  3. ^ a b c d e Schulz, Hans; Basler, Otto, et al. (1913–1988), Deutsches Fremdwörterbuch, 7 vols., Strasbourg / Berlin: Trübner / De Gruyter; 2nd ed., ed. Gerhard Strauß et al. (1995–), Berlin / New York: De Gruyter; via OWID, Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache
  4. ^ a b c d e Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  5. ^ a b c Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2007), 4th ed., Duden vol. 7, Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  6. ^ 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. 6, 1141
  7. ^ Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org