Freund

Forms

Freund m (genitive Freundes or Freunds, plural Freunde, diminutive Freundchen n or Freundlein n or Freunderl n, feminine Freundin)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German vriunt, inherited from Old High German friunt, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *friund, inherited from Proto-Germanic *frijōndz (“friend, relative”).^[2][3][1] The same word is Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌾𐍉𐌽𐌳𐍃 (frijōnds), Old English frēond, English friend, Old Frisian friōnd, Old Saxon friund, Dutch vriend and, more strongly altered, Old Norse frændi (“relative”).^[2][4][5]

Like Feind and Heiland, it is an old present participle that became a noun: “the loving one”, from a Germanic verb meaning “to love, treat kindly” seen in 𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌾𐍉𐌽 (frijōn, “to love”), which belongs with frei and freien.^[2][3][6] The root is Proto-Indo-European *preyH- (“to love, be fond of”).^[1][7] Orel lists Mezger's view that it is not a participle but formed otherwise from the verb.^[5][2] Remnants of the old consonant-stem inflection, plurals without an ending, survive in Old and Middle High German.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German friunt is recorded from the 8th century, in glosses and in the Benedictine Rule, the Tatian, Otfrid, Notker and Williram.^[8][9][7] It meant “friend” and “neighbour, fellow man”, glossing Latin amicus and proximus, and also “kinsman” (cognatus).^[8][7]

Semantic evolution

From Old High German until the 17th or 18th century the word was used both for relatives and for friends who were not related; the sense “relative” then went out of use in the standard language.^[10][3] Luther still used it so (seinen nächsten Freunden … die ihm angehören in seinem Geschlecht), and it survives in dialects and in Blutsfreund.^[6][3] The abstract Freundschaft also first meant “kinship, all one's relatives”.^[11] Duden and Wahrig note that the sense “trusted companion” had appeared beside “kinsman” already in Germanic times.^[11][12]

From Middle High German, like French ami, Freund also meant “lover”, as in Luther's Song of Songs: Mein Freund ist mir ein büschel Myrrhen.^[6] The death euphemism Freund Hein was made familiar by Matthias Claudius.^[13] In the GDR die Freunde was an ironic name for the Soviets, after the constant slogan of German–Soviet friendship.^[14]

Timeline

• 8th century – Old High German friunt is recorded.^[2][3]
• 8th century – friuntscaf “friendship” appears.^[3]
• 11th century – The adjective friuntlīh “friendly” appears.^[3]
• 15th century – Befreundete “relatives” is recorded.^[3]
• 17th–18th century – The sense “relative” goes out of use.^[10]
• 18th century – freundschaftlich appears.^[3]
• 19th century – sich anfreunden becomes common.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A friend, a person one is close to and trusts: Er ist seit der Schulzeit mein Freund.^[13][1]
2. A boyfriend, the man with whom a woman (or man) has a relationship: Sie zog mit ihrem Freund nach Leipzig.^[13][1]
3. A lover of something: kein Freund von etwas sein, to dislike something.^[13]
4. A supporter or patron: der Verein der Freunde des Museums.^[13]
5. A political ally, a party colleague.^[13][14]
6. A form of address to a man.^[14]
7. (obsolete) A blood relative.^[1][10]

Word family

• anfreunden
• befreunden
• freundlich
• Freundschaft
• befreundet
• entfreunden
• Freundin

Related words

• frei
• freien
• English friend

Usage notes

Freund und Feind means “everyone”, and mit jemandem gut Freund sein (regional, dated) is to be on good terms with someone.^[13] The proverb Freunde in der Not gehen hundert auf ein Lot says that friends are scarce in hard times.^[13][6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 318
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
4. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c d Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
7. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
8. ^ a b c Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. 3, 583
9. ^ Schützeichel, Rudolf (2012), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 7th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 114
10. ^ 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, 1024
11. ^ a b Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 287
12. ^ Wahrig-Burfeind, Renate, ed., Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch, Gütersloh / München: Wissen Media Verlag; online edition at wissen.de
13. ^ a b c d e f g h Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
14. ^ a b c Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org