Folge

Forms

Folge f (genitive Folge, plural Folgen)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German volge, a noun formed from the verb Middle High German volgen, Old High German folgēn, Proto-West Germanic *folgēn (see folgen).^[2][1][3][4] In Old High German it is found only in the compound selbfolga (“sect, party”) (11th century); the EWA and Pfeifer take it as a noun formed from the verb rather than its base.^[2][5][6] The same noun is Middle Low German volge, Middle Dutch volge and Old Frisian folge.^[7]

The verb continues Proto-Germanic *fulgēn, also in Old Saxon folgon, Old Norse fylgja and Old English folgian, whence English follow.^[3][8][2] The East Germanic counterpart is lacking, and Gothic 𐌻𐌰𐌹𐍃𐍄𐌾𐌰𐌽 (laistjan) (see leisten) takes its place.^[3][8][2] Its origin is unexplained.^[3][2][4] A connection with a Welsh word for “track” would suggest a root Proto-Indo-European *polgʰ-, but that word is isolated and ambiguous in form;^[3][2] Kluge finds a link with the family of befehlen most satisfying from the Germanic side, though only as a root etymology with an imperfect match in meaning.^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Middle High German volge appears in the Marienleben of Wernher (1172–1190), where those who broke the emperor's command and refused to follow them (die uolge uersprachen) suffered for it.^[9][7] It meant following and pursuit, a retinue, the duty to follow one's lord to war, feudal succession, obedience, and agreement, especially the legal assent to a judgement.^[10][9][6]

Semantic evolution

Of the many Middle High German senses only “sequence”, “result” and “time to come” survive in modern German, beside “obedience” in the phrase Folge leisten, which first referred to complying with a summons to court.^[4][6] The Grimms record the legal Folge “succession” in compounds like Erbfolge and Nachfolge, and the hunter's right of Folge to pursue game into another's ground.^[11]

Applied to logical inference, Folge came to mean a consequence, with folglich, folgern and folgerecht (18th century, after French conséquent).^[3][2] In modern use it also means an instalment or episode of a series, and in mathematics a sequence.^[6][1] The word was borrowed into Polish as folga “leniency, indulgence” (1460).^[12]

Timeline

• 11th century – Old High German selbfolga “sect”.^[2][13]
• 1172–1190 – Middle High German volge in Wernher's Marienleben.^[9]
• 1338 – volge for the obligation to provide armed men.^[10]
• 1460 – Polish folga is recorded as a loan from German.^[12]
• 17th century – folglich is used in the sense “therefore”.^[2][4]
• 18th century – folgenschwer “momentous” is formed, probably after French.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A consequence, result or effect of an action or event.^[6][1]
2. A sequence or series of things following one another: in rascher Folge.^[6][1]
3. An instalment, episode or issue of a series or periodical.^[6][1]
4. (mathematics) A sequence, a function on the natural numbers.^[1][13]

Word family

• folgerichtig
• Abfolge
• Erbfolge
• Fruchtfolge
• Nachfolge
• infolge
• zufolge
• Reihenfolge
• folglich
• folgsam
• folgenschwer

Related words

• folgen
• folgern
• Gefolge
• Erfolg
• English follow

Usage notes

Einer Sache Folge leisten (official style) is to comply with a request or an invitation;^[6][4] in der Folge means “subsequently”, and in Folge “in a row”.^[6][4] The prepositions infolge and zufolge are formed from the noun.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 308
4. ^ a b c d e f g Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2007), 4th ed., Duden vol. 7, Mannheim: Dudenverlag
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, 448
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
7. ^ a b 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, 719
8. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
9. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
10. ^ a b Lexer, Matthias (1872–1878), Mittelhochdeutsches Handwörterbuch, 3 vols., Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 3, 440
11. ^ Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 3, 1871
12. ^ a b Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de
13. ^ a b Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org