Etymologically
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Fernsehen

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈfɛʁnˌzeːn/, [ˈfɛɐ̯nˌzeːn], /ˈfɛʁnˌseːn/[1]
  • Germany: [ˈfɛʁnˌzeːn][1]
  • Austria, Southern-Germany, Switzerland: [ˈfɛɐ̯n-][1]

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

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