Etymologically
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Ergebnis

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Pronunciation

  • [ɛɐ̯ˈɡeːpnɪs][1]

Forms

Ergebnis n (genitive Ergebnisses, plural Ergebnisse)[1]

Etymology

It is from German ergeben + -nis, formed from the verb ergeben in the sense “to yield, turn out”.[2][1][3] It was coined around 1800 as a German word for Resultat.[4][5] The verb is Middle High German ergeben, Old High German irgeban, with the prefix er- and geben, Proto-Germanic *gebaną (“to give”).[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Grimms' revision finds it from about 1796, when Novalis wrote ergebniß in a list of words for gain and reward.[2][5] Campe included it in his supplement of 1801, after Gedike.[5]

Semantic evolution

From “yield, gain” and the result of a calculation the word spread to the findings of a scientific inquiry (1801), the ruling reached by a court or a meeting, and the consequence of a development.[2] Goethe also used it for “event”, as he used reflexive sich ergeben for “to happen”.[5] In sport it is the final score, and in business the profit or output.[1]

Timeline

  • 1796 – Novalis uses ergebniß.[2][5]
  • 1801 – Campe lists the word as a German replacement for Resultat.[5]
  • 1801 – First use for the findings of experiments, in Matthisson.[2]
  • 1824 – Used in economics for the outcome of a process of production.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A result, outcome: what follows from an effort, intended or not.[8][1]
  2. What is found by calculation, measurement or counting.[8]
  3. (sports) A score.[1]
  4. (business) Earnings, profit, output.[1]

Word family

  • ergebnisoffen
  • Ergebnisliste

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f 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, 1757
  3. ^ Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
  4. ^ Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 304
  5. ^ a b c d e f Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
  6. ^ Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 254
  7. ^ 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 Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag