Feuerwehr

Forms

Feuerwehr f (genitive Feuerwehr, plural Feuerwehren)^[1]

Etymology

It is a compound from German Feuer (“fire”) + Wehr (“defence”), formed on the model of Landwehr, in which the second part names a body of men organised for defence.^[2][3] The word came up with the volunteer fire brigades founded in Germany, the first in Meißen in 1841.^[2][4]

The first part is Old High German fiur, related to Old English fȳr and Ancient Greek πῦρ (pûr), from Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥ (“fire”).^[4][5][6] The second, “defence”, is a back-formation from wehren.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word appears in 1841 with the volunteer fire brigade of Meißen, a body trained to put out fires.^[2][4][3] A handbook of firefighting of 1850 says that everyone has an interest in an excellent Feuerwehr.^[8]

Semantic evolution

Besides the organisation itself, the word came to mean the firefighters at work, and in children's language a toy fire engine.^[9] Modern fire brigades also deal with other emergencies and disasters, and their definition has widened accordingly.^[9][8] Figuratively, someone sent to deal with a crisis is called the Feuerwehr.^[9] The Dutch brandweer is a calque of the German word, and it was passed on to Indonesian and Papiamentu.^[1]

Timeline

• 1841 – The first volunteer Feuerwehr is founded in Meißen.^[2]
• 1850 – Magirus writes about the institution of the Feuerwehr.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A fire brigade or fire department, which fights fires and helps in disasters;^[9][1] die freiwillige Feuerwehr is staffed by volunteers.^[9][1]
2. (colloquial) The firefighters on duty, or their vehicles;^[9] wie die Feuerwehr fahren is to drive very fast.^[9]
3. (children's language) A toy fire engine.^[9]

Word family

• Feuerwehrmann
• Feuerwehrfrau
• Feuerwehrauto
• Feuerwehrhaus
• Feuerwehrschlauch
• Berufsfeuerwehr

Related words

• Feuerwehrwagen
• Feuer
• Wehr
• Landwehr
• wehren

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 291
3. ^ a b Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 3, 1607
4. ^ a b c Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
5. ^ Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. 3, 330
6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
7. ^ Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 976
8. ^ a b c 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, 459
9. ^ a b c d e f g h Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag