Etymologically
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Herz

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Pronunciation

  • /hɛrts/, [hɛʁt͡s], [hɛɐ̯t͡s][1]

Forms

Herz n (genitive Herzens or (very rare) Herzes, plural Herzen, diminutive Herzchen n or Herzlein n or ((also) Ruhrpöttisch) Herzken n or Herzerl n)[1] Middle High German herze was shortened to herz because of the strong case forms that the word developed beside its weak ones.[2][3] Herz is already Luther's usual form, but herze lasted into modern times, in Goethe and Heine.[2][4] The genitive was Herzen before Herzens took over in Early New High German, hence compounds such as Herzenslust.[4] Medical language also inflects it strongly, des Herzes, dem Herz.[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German herze, inherited from Old High German herza, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *hertā, inherited from Proto-Germanic *hertô (“heart”).[6][1][7] The same word is Old Saxon herta, Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌹𐍂𐍄𐍉 (hairtō), Old Norse hjarta, Old English heorte and Old Frisian herte, continued in Dutch hart, English heart and Swedish hjärta.[6][8][7]

It goes back to the root noun Proto-Indo-European *ḱérd (“heart”), which had ablaut in its forms: nominative *ḱḗr, genitive *ḱr̥dós.[6][7][1] The same word is Hittite kard-, Ancient Greek καρδία (kardía) and epic κῆρ (kêr), Latin cor, Old Irish cride, Lithuanian širdìs and Russian сердце (serdce); Sanskrit हृद् (hṛ́d) shows an unexplained variant with an aspirated initial.[6][8][7] The Germanic word was remade as a neuter n-stem.[1]

Its further origin is unclear.[6] Pfeifer mentions the idea that the heart was named as “the leaper”, from the root of Scherz and schrecken,[8] and the Grimms thought of Greek words for swinging and quivering.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German herza is found from the 8th century, first in glosses of about 765, and then in the Benedictine Rule, Isidor, the Tatian, Otfrid, Notker and many other texts.[9][3][10] It meant the heart as an organ and as the inner self, the seat of feeling, will and thought, of the soul, of virtue and vice, and of courage; it rendered Latin cor, animus, mens and pectus.[3] It was often personified, and mîn lieba herza “my dearest heart” could stand for Christ.[3]

Semantic evolution

From the earliest times the heart was the seat of the feelings and of courage.[11] Many phrases show this: sich etwas zu Herzen nehmen, sein Herz ausschütten, and sich ein Herz fassen “to pluck up courage”, which Maaler already records.[11][4] The adjectives followed the same lines: herzlich, herzlos and herzig (16th century) of feeling, Middle High German herzehaft “brave, sensible” of courage;[11][8] herzhaft has meant “hearty, savoury” of food since the 19th century.[11][8] The verb herzen “to hug” dates from the 15th century, while Middle High German herzen had meant “to give a heart”.[8]

The word was also transferred to the innermost, best or dearest part of something.[11] Herzblatt was at first the innermost and most tender leaf of a plant (17th century) and became a pet name in the 18th.[8] Luther's Bible gave ein Herz und eine Seele sein (Acts 4:32) and wes das Herz voll ist, des geht der Mund über (Matthew 12:34).[4] German Herz was borrowed into Silesian Polish as herc, the suit of hearts.[12]

Timeline

  • c. 765 – herza appears in Old High German glosses.[9]
  • 15th century – The verb herzen “to hug” appears.[8]
  • 16th century – herzig is formed;[8][2] Luther usually writes herz.[8][2]
  • 17th century – Herzblatt names the innermost leaf of a plant;[8][4] einem rutscht das Herz in die Hose is recorded.[8][4]
  • 18th century – Herzblatt becomes a pet name;[8][4] Hand aufs Herz and Herzschlag are recorded.[8][4]
  • 19th century – herzhaft takes on the sense “savoury”.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The heart, the organ that pumps the blood: Vor Aufregung schlug ihr das Herz schneller.[5][1]
  2. The heart of certain animals as food: Es gab geschmortes Herz vom Rind.[5][13]
  3. The heart as the seat of the feelings, of love and of courage: Er hat ein gutes Herz.[5][1]
  4. A dearly loved person, darling, mostly in address: Komm her, mein Herz![5][1]
  5. The innermost part of a plant, or the centre or core of something: Das Hotel liegt im Herzen der Altstadt.[5][13]
  6. A heart shape, or an object in that shape: ein Herz aus Lebkuchen.[5][13]
  7. (card games) Hearts, the suit; a game with hearts as trumps; a card of that suit.[5][1]

Word family

  • beherzt
  • Herzblatt
  • herzhaft
  • herzig
  • herzlich
  • Herzschlag
  • herzen
  • herzallerliebst
  • Herzblut
  • Herzchen
  • beherzigen
  • herzlos
  • Herzeleid

Usage notes

Hand aufs Herz (18th century) is a call to be honest.[4] Das Herz auf der Zunge tragen, to say openly what one feels, goes back to Luther.[4] Jemanden auf Herz und Nieren prüfen is colloquial for “to examine someone thoroughly”.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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. 10, 1207
  3. ^ a b c d Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. 4, 994
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 f g h i Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  6. ^ a b c d e Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 413
  7. ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  9. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  10. ^ Schützeichel, Rudolf (2012), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 7th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 151
  11. ^ a b c d e Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2014), 5th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin / Mannheim / Zürich: Dudenverlag, p. 382
  12. ^ Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de
  13. ^ a b c Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org