Fernsehen

Forms

Fernsehen n (genitive Fernsehens, no plural)^[1]

Etymology

It is a compound from German fern (“far”) + sehen (“to see”), formed at the end of the 19th century.^[2][1] Duden counts its first element among the many technical words whose first element renders the international element of Greek origin seen in Television.^[2] Kluge and the German edition of Wiktionary see it as a translation of English television, Pfeifer allows for the influence of the English word, and the English edition calls it a calque of French télévision.^[3][4][5][1] The English word is itself a hybrid of Ancient Greek τῆλε (tēle, “far”) and Latin vīsiō (“sight”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Duden dates the noun to the end of the 19th century, but notes that it became generally known only with the technical development of the 20th century.^[2] Kluge adds that in Germany the word was at first used only in technical language.^[3]

Semantic evolution

A verb fernsehen already existed in the 17th century in the sense “to look ahead”, and Fernseher was then one of the German words proposed for the Dutch telescope, verrekijker.^[5][3] The modern verb “to watch television” belongs to the first half of the 20th century, perhaps modelled on fernsprechen “to telephone” (after 1920); Duden dates it to the middle of the century.^[5][2] Fernseher was used for the set as early as 1905 and now also means a viewer.^[2][5]

From the technique the noun passed to the medium, the broadcasting companies, the programmes and, in colloquial use, the set itself.^[7]

Timeline

• 17th century – fernsehen “to look ahead”, and Fernseher “telescope”, are recorded.^[5][3]
• Late 19th century – Fernsehen is coined.^[2]
• 1905 – Fernseher names a device.^[2]
• 20th century – The word becomes generally known;^[2][5] fernsehen takes the sense “to watch television”.^[2][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. television: the transmission of moving pictures, usually with sound, received on a screen.^[7][1]
2. Television as a mass medium: Damals gab es noch kein Fernsehen.^[7][4]
3. The television broadcasters of a country or region: Ihr Bruder arbeitet beim Fernsehen.^[7]
4. Television programmes: Heute Abend kommt ein Krimi im Fernsehen.^[7][4]
5. (colloquial) A television set.^[7]

Word family

• fernsehen
• Fernseher
• Fernsehgerät
• Fernsehsendung

Related words

• fern
• sehen
• Fernsprecher
• English television

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2007), 4th ed., Duden vol. 7, Mannheim: Dudenverlag
3. ^ a b c d Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 288
4. ^ a b c Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
5. ^ a b c d e f g Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
6. ^ Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 912
7. ^ a b c d e f Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag