Entscheidung

Forms

Entscheidung f (genitive Entscheidung, plural Entscheidungen)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German entscheidunge, from German entscheiden + -ung.^[2][3][4] The verb entscheiden, already Middle High German, was first used of a judge's ruling: separating statements and views from one another to reach the right judgement.^[5] It is formed with ent- from scheiden, skeidan, Proto-Germanic *skaidaną (“to separate”), the same verb as Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌽 (skaidan) and Old English scēadan.^[6][7] Kluge and Pfeifer derive it from the root Proto-Indo-European *skē̆i- (“to cut, separate”), also in Latin scindō and Ancient Greek σχίζω (skhízō).^[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Middle High German entscheidunge is recorded in Claus Cranc's translation of the Prophets (1347–1359), and Middle Low German entscheiding in a Magdeburg charter of 1314, for a binding ruling in a dispute.^[3][2] Paul dates the word to the 14th century;^[8][7] Pfeifer only to the 16th.^[8][7]

Semantic evolution

In Early New High German the word meant a court ruling or arbitration, and also the division of an estate and the interpretation of a dream.^[9] Like the verb, which was weakened and generalised in New High German, it moved from the judge's ruling to any settlement of a question, the act of making up one's mind, and the decisive turn of a battle.^[5][8][10]

Timeline

• 1314 – Middle Low German entscheiding appears in a Magdeburg charter.^[2]
• 1347–1359 – Claus Cranc uses entscheidunge.^[3][2]
• 1509 – Recorded in the plural for court rulings in Upper Rhine town laws.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of deciding something, a decision.^[11][1]
2. The act of making up one's mind; a choice between alternatives.^[11][4]
3. What has been decided: a ruling or verdict.^[11][4]

Related words

• entscheiden
• Entscheid
• scheiden
• Unterschied

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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. 8, 1475
3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
4. ^ a b c Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
5. ^ a b Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 249
6. ^ a b Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 798
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b c Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
9. ^ Anderson, Robert R.; Goebel, Ulrich; Reichmann, Oskar, eds. (1989–), Frühneuhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter; FWB-online, fwb-online.de
10. ^ Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 3, 598
11. ^ a b c Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag