Etymologically
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Initiative

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Pronunciation

  • Germany: /init͡si̯aˈtiːvə/[1]
  • Austria: /init͡si̯aˈtiːv̥ɛ/[1]

Forms

Initiative f (genitive Initiative, plural Initiativen)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French initiative (“right to propose laws”), a term of French constitutional law that came up in the debates of the Revolution around 1790.[2][3][4] Kluge dates the borrowing to the 19th century, while Pfeifer, Duden and the Deutsches Fremdwörterbuch place it in the 18th century, with the first German record in 1799.[2][5][6][4]

The French noun is a learned formation from initier (“to initiate, introduce, begin”), which continues Latin initiō (“to initiate into the mysteries; in Late Latin also to begin”).[5][2] That verb is formed from initium (“entrance, beginning”), a noun of ineō (“to go in, begin”), made of in- and eō (“to go”).[2][7][6] The same borrowing is Dutch initiatief, English initiative and Swedish initiativ.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first German records use the word in its political sense, the right to put forward a law: Wieland wrote in 1799 that the chamber of princes had the Initiative for general laws of the Empire, and Buchholz in 1808 and Görres in 1821 used it of the right of ministers to bring in bills.[4][3]

Semantic evolution

In the early 19th century Initiative also meant the opening of a debate.[5] From about 1830 it spread into general use as “the first impulse to an action”.[5][3] Heine wrote in 1834 that France deserved the glory of the Initiative, and the phrase die Initiative ergreifen “to take the initiative”, modelled on French prendre l’initiative, is recorded from 1839.[4][3][5] From this came the sense “drive, readiness to act”, which Paul illustrates from Thomas Mann's Zauberberg.[3]

The constitutional sense still lives in Switzerland, where Initiative names a popular initiative, a demand by citizens for a vote on a law.[6][3][8] In late 20th-century West Germany the word became short for Bürgerinitiative, a citizens' action group.[3][9] The new sense also influenced the older verb initiieren, which at first meant “to initiate into a cult”, as Latin did, and now usually means “to set going”; the agent noun Initiator dates from about 1900.[3][5]

Timeline

  • c. 1790 – French initiative arises in the debates of the Revolution.[3]
  • 1799 – Wieland uses Initiative of the right to propose imperial laws.[4][3]
  • 1834 – Heine uses the word in a general sense.[4]
  • 1839 – First record of die Initiative ergreifen, in Gaudy.[3]
  • c. 1900 – Initiator is formed after Late Latin initiātor.[5]
  • Late 20th century – Initiative becomes short for Bürgerinitiative.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The first active step towards an action, the impulse that sets something going: die Initiative ergreifen, to take the initiative.[9][1]
  2. (uncountable) drive and enterprise, the ability to act on one's own: Ihr fehlt es nicht an Initiative.[9][8]
  3. Short for Bürgerinitiative: a citizens' action group, or any group formed to pursue a common aim.[9][10]
  4. (politics) The right to introduce a bill in a parliament.[8][1]
  5. (Switzerland) A popular initiative, a petition by citizens forcing a vote on a proposal: Volksinitiative.[8][3]

Word family

  • Bürgerinitiative
  • Eigeninitiative
  • Volksinitiative
  • Initiator
  • initiieren

References

  1. ^ a b c d e 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. 445
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
  4. ^ a b c d e f Schulz, Hans; Basler, Otto, et al. (1913–1988), Deutsches Fremdwörterbuch, 7 vols., Strasbourg / Berlin: Trübner / De Gruyter; 2nd ed., ed. Gerhard Strauß et al. (1995–), Berlin / New York: De Gruyter; via OWID, Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  6. ^ a b c Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 393
  7. ^ Wahrig-Burfeind, Renate, ed., Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch, Gütersloh / München: Wissen Media Verlag; online edition at wissen.de
  8. ^ a b c d Duden. Das Fremdwörterbuch (2007), 9th ed., Duden vol. 5, Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  9. ^ a b c d Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  10. ^ Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org