Führung

Forms

Führung f (genitive Führung, plural Führungen)^[1]

Etymology

It is from German führen + -ung, Middle High German vüerunge.^[1][2][3][4] The Grimms' dictionary found neither an Old nor a Middle High German form and dated the first records to the 15th century,^[5] but its revision cites a gloss of the 10th century and Middle High German records.^[4] Köbler also lists Old High German fuorunga from glosses.^[4][6]

The verb führen is Middle High German vüeren, Old High German fuoren, Proto-Germanic *fōrijaną, the lengthened-grade causative of fahren, meaning “to make go, set in motion”.^[7][2][8] It is the same verb as Old Norse fœra, Old English fēran and Old Frisian fēra, and Kluge compares the causative Sanskrit पारयति (pāráyati, “leads across”).^[7] Kluge adds that two roots of the same shape may be involved, Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to go, travel”) and a root “to pass through, bring across”.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The 10th-century gloss and the oldest Middle High German records use the noun for nourishment and food, then for load or freight: in 1349/50 Konrad von Megenberg says that a certain wine is ain fuorung und ain kost “a nourishment and a food”.^[4] Köbler gives the Old High German gloss word the senses “maintenance, levy, income, life-giving force”.^[6]

Semantic evolution

From the 15th century Führung is the noun of führen “to lead, guide, steer”, and its senses follow those of the verb: guiding someone on a way, leading and directing others.^[2][5] Adelung (1793) records the pious use die Führungen Gottes, the course of a person's life as arranged by Providence.^[9] The Duden dictionary also gives the senses “guided tour”, “leading position” (in sport, in Führung gehen “to take the lead”), “conduct” (released early for good behaviour), and in technology the part of a machine that guides a movement.^[3] The innere Führung of the Bundeswehr is the training of soldiers as responsible citizens.^[3]

Timeline

• 10th century – Old High German fuarunga glosses Latin vegetamina.^[4]
• 1282 – Hiltgart von Hürnheim uses füerung for food supplies.^[4]
• 15th century – First records of the sense “leading, direction”.^[2][5]
• 1793 – Adelung records die Führungen Gottes.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. Leadership, management: responsibility for directing a company, party or group.^[3][1]
2. Guidance: das Kind braucht eine klare Führung “the child needs firm guidance”.^[3]
3. The leadership: the group of people who run an organization.^[3][10]
4. A guided tour of a building or exhibition.^[3][1]
5. A leading position; in sport, the lead: mit zwei Toren in Führung liegen “to lead by two goals”.^[3][1]
6. Conduct, behaviour: wegen guter Führung “for good behaviour”.^[3][1]
7. Handling of a tool or instrument, such as the bow of a violin.^[3]
8. (technology) A part of a machine that determines the direction of a movement; a guide.^[3]
9. (official) The driving of a vehicle; the bearing of a title; the keeping of accounts.^[3]

Word family

• führungslos
• Führungsrolle
• Führungsriege

Related words

• Aufführung
• Entführung
• Rückführung
• Überführung
• Unterführung
• Vorführung
• führen
• Führer
• fahren

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 f g h i j k l Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
4. ^ 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. 9, 1228
5. ^ a b c Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 4, 474
6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
7. ^ a b c Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 322
8. ^ Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. 3, 639
9. ^ a b Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf, p. 2, 347
10. ^ Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org