Gebiet

Pronunciation

• /ɡəˈbiːt/^[1]

Forms

Gebiet n (genitive Gebietes or Gebiets, plural Gebiete)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German gebiet (also gebiete), formed from the verb gebieten “to command”, which is itself bieten with the prefix ge-.^[2][3][4][5] The same noun is Middle Low German gebede (“command, decree”).^[3] Its first sense was “power of command”; from this came “the area over which a command holds”, and then “area” in general.^[2]

Like the older Gebot, it is an abstract noun of the verb.^[3] The Grimms point out that it is built on the present stem while the older noun is built on the past, that no Old High German counterpart is recorded, and that the word was still rare in the 13th century, a new formation beside the older noun.^[6]

That verb is Old High German biotan, Proto-Germanic *beudaną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewdʰ- (“to be aware, make aware”), also found in Sanskrit बोधति (bódhati, “wakes, understands”) and Ancient Greek πεύθομαι (peúthomai, “I learn, inquire”).^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Middle High German gebiet(e) and Middle Low German gebede meant “command, decree” in the 13th century, and then also “jurisdiction”.^[3][8]

Semantic evolution

In the 14th century it developed the local sense “area of command, of rule, of jurisdiction”, the only one that survived into modern German.^[3][8] It was then generalized to any area and to a field of knowledge, as in das Gebiet der Wissenschaft.^[3][4] It was borrowed as Polish gbit (“district”), recorded in 1428.^[9] In mathematics it names a domain, an open connected set.^[1][10]

Timeline

• 13th century – Middle High German gebiet(e) “command” is first recorded.^[2][3]
• 14th century – The sense “area under someone's authority” appears.^[3]
• 1428 – Polish gbit “district” is recorded.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. An area or region of some size, seen as a unit; a territory: Weite Gebiete im Süden des Landes sind vom Hochwasser betroffen.^[11][1] In meteorology, a zone: ein Gebiet hohen Luftdrucks.^[11]
2. A field, subject or area of activity: Auf dem Gebiet der Augenheilkunde ist sie eine Expertin.^[11][10]
3. (mathematics) A domain: a non-empty open connected set.^[1][10]

Word family

• gebietsweise
• Gebietsreform
• Gebietskörperschaft

Related words

• gebieten
• bieten
• Gebot

Usage notes

Early New High German had a separate gebiet “scaffold, floor of boards”, used in Switzerland for the decks of a boat and in Hesse for the frame that carries a millstone.^[6][8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 337
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
4. ^ a b Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2014), 5th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin / Mannheim / Zürich: Dudenverlag, p. 320
5. ^ Wahrig-Burfeind, Renate, ed., Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch, Gütersloh / München: Wissen Media Verlag; online edition at wissen.de
6. ^ a b Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 4, 1747
7. ^ Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 121
8. ^ a b c Anderson, Robert R.; Goebel, Ulrich; Reichmann, Oskar, eds. (1989–), Frühneuhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter; FWB-online, fwb-online.de
9. ^ a b Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de
10. ^ a b c Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
11. ^ a b c Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag