Etymologically
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Gespräch

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Pronunciation

  • /ɡəˈʃpʁɛːç/, /ɡəˈʃpʁeːç/[1]

Forms

Gespräch n (genitive Gespräches or Gesprächs, plural Gespräche)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German gespræche, inherited from Old High German gisprāhhi (“eloquence, speech, conversation”), a collective noun formed with gi- from Old High German sprāhha (“speech, language”) (see Sprache).[2][3][4][5] Wiktionary traces it to Proto-Germanic *gasprakją.[1] The same formation is Middle Dutch ghespraeck, Dutch gesprek and Middle Low German gesprake.[5][1]

The base noun goes back to Proto-West Germanic *sprǣkō (“speech”), an abstract noun to sprechen.[6] The modern form is shortened from ⟨Gespräche⟩, which Christian Weise, Steinbach and Rückert still used.[5][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German gisprāhhi is recorded about 800, and the feminine gisprāhhī in the 10th century; they meant “eloquence, speech, talk”.[2][7] Williram (11th century) uses gesbrâche for the gift of speech, and Notker has the related adjective gisprāhhi “eloquent”.[5][7]

Semantic evolution

In Old and Middle High German the word had a wide range: the faculty of speech, a way of speaking or pronunciation, a speech, a deliberation or assembly, and a conversation.[5][8][9] Luther still used it for “speech, utterance” (Job 37:2).[4] The sense “exchange of talk between people” then prevailed, both informal (Goethe's Faust: ein Gespräch von Krieg und Kriegsgeschrei) and formal, as in a negotiation or a disputation such as the Marburg Religionsgespräch of 1529 between Luther and Zwingli.[4][9]

Adelung defined it around 1800 as a friendly conversation, especially about indifferent matters, and also recorded the senses “rumour” and “subject of talk” (das Gespräch der ganzen Stadt).[10][4] In literature it named a written dialogue, as in Wieland's Gespräch unter vier Augen.[4] In modern German it also means a telephone call.[11]

Timeline

  • c. 800 – Old High German gisprāhhi “speech, eloquence”.[2]
  • 10th century – The feminine gisprāhhī is recorded.[2]
  • c. 1150 – Middle High German gespræche in the Speculum ecclesiae.[8]
  • 1529 – The Marburg Religionsgespräch between Luther and Zwingli.[4]
  • 15th century – Gesprächigkeit “talkativeness” appears.[2]
  • 19th century – Gesprächsstoff “subject of conversation” is formed.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A conversation, talk or discussion between people about a subject.[11][1]
  2. (in the plural) Talks, negotiations between parties or states.[11]
  3. A telephone call.[11]
  4. (colloquial) A subject of talk: Die Hochzeit war das Gespräch des ganzen Dorfes.[11][10]

Word family

  • gesprächig
  • Gesprächigkeit
  • Gesprächsstoff
  • Telefongespräch
  • Selbstgespräch

Usage notes

Im Gespräch sein is to be under discussion, for example as a candidate, and mit jemandem im Gespräch bleiben is to stay in contact with someone.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  3. ^ Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 321
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
  5. ^ a b c d e Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 5, 4161
  6. ^ Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 871
  7. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  8. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  9. ^ a b Anderson, Robert R.; Goebel, Ulrich; Reichmann, Oskar, eds. (1989–), Frühneuhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter; FWB-online, fwb-online.de
  10. ^ a b Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf
  11. ^ a b c d e f Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag