Etymologically
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Erfolg

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Pronunciation

  • /ɛɐ̯ˈfɔlk/[1]

Forms

Erfolg m (genitive Erfolges or Erfolgs, plural Erfolge)[1]

Etymology

It is a back-formation from the verb erfolgen, recorded from the early 16th century.[2][3][4] Kluge dates the noun to the 17th century and thinks French succéder and succès may have influenced it.[5]

The verb is Middle High German ervolgen, Old High German arfolgēn, formed from folgen with the prefix er-.[2][6] That verb continues Proto-Germanic *fulgāną (“to follow”), whose further origin is unclear.[7][8][1] Kluge reads the verb here as “to reach, obtain”, while Wahrig starts from the sense “to happen”.[5][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest quotation, from 1521, has bis zum erfolg des urteils “until the judgement is carried out”, with the sense “occurrence, execution”.[3] The word stayed rare until the 18th century.[3]

Semantic evolution

The first senses were the coming about of something and its result, good or bad.[3][9] Goethe still often used it for the course of events, and Lessing's in Erfolg dieser Anberaumung means “as a consequence of this appointment”.[2][10] Adelung, around 1800, defined it as what follows, a consequence, or the outcome of a matter.[11]

From the middle of the 18th century the sense “achievement of the intended effect, success” grew steadily, and it is now the only one in general use.[2][3] With it came erfolglos and erfolgreich, and in the 20th century compounds such as Erfolgsbuch (1913, Thomas Mann), Erfolgsaussicht (1914) and Erfolgserlebnis (1935).[2]

Timeline

  • 1521 – First record, in a Swiss source, in the sense “execution”.[3][2]
  • 17th century – Kluge's date for the noun.[5]
  • mid-18th century – The sense “success” spreads.[2][3]
  • 19th century – The sense “occurrence” dies out.[3]
  • 1913 – Thomas Mann uses Erfolgsbuch.[2]
  • 1935 – Erfolgserlebnis is recorded.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Success, a positive result of an effort, the achievement of an intended effect: der Plan hatte großen Erfolg.[4][1]
  2. Something successful: das Konzert war ein voller Erfolg.[4]
  3. (colloquial, ironic) The consequence: der Erfolg war, dass alle nass wurden.[4]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h 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, 1721
  4. ^ a b c d Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  5. ^ a b c Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 254
  6. ^ 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, 1723
  7. ^ Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 308
  8. ^ Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  9. ^ a b Wahrig-Burfeind, Renate, ed., Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch, Gütersloh / München: Wissen Media Verlag; online edition at wissen.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, 803
  11. ^ Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf