Etymologically
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Junge

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Pronunciation

Forms

Junge m (genitive Jungen, plural Jungen or Jungs or Jungens, diminutive Jünglein n or Jüngelchen n or Jüngchen n or (rare, often poetic) Jüngelein n)[1] Older sources often have the strong form ein junger, as in Götz von Berlichingen, Opitz and Fleming; the weak form fixed the modern ein Junge.[2][1] The plural Jungens spread from Low German;[2] Wieland, Schiller and Goethe use it, but only in familiar speech.[2] Jungs and Jungens are colloquial, especially in the north.[3][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German junge (“youth, young man”), inherited from Old High German jungo (“young man”), the weak masculine form of the adjective jung used as a noun.[2][4][1] In the sense “boy” Kluge dates the noun to the 16th century.[5] Pfeifer sees in it a shortening of phrases in which the adjective stood before a noun for a boy or a journeyman, and takes only the Middle High German noun “youth, young man” as a direct nominalisation of the adjective.[6][7]

The adjective is junc, jung, from Proto-Germanic *jungaz (“young”), also found in Gothic 𐌾𐌿𐌲𐌲𐍃 (juggs), Old Norse ungr, Old English geong, Old Frisian jung and Old Saxon jung; it continues in Dutch jong, English young and Swedish ung.[8][6][9] Kluge and Pfeifer take it as an extension in /k/ of the Indo-European adjective for “young”; the same extension appears in Latin iuvencus (“young bull”) and Welsh ieuanc (“young”), while the simple stem is in iuvenis (“young”).[8][6] Kroonen gives the commonly reconstructed form as a derivative of the word for “lifetime”, but would rather derive it from a verb “to mature”, preserved in Tocharian B yäw- (“to ripen”).[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Old High German Tatian jungo renders Latin adolescens: jungo, ih quidu thir, arstant! “young man, I say to you, arise!”[2] Middle High German junge means a youth or young man and, in the plural, the disciples of Christ.[4][10]

Semantic evolution

In Early New High German junge also meant a helper or apprentice, as in Bauernknecht beside Jägerjunge and Küchenjunge, and an altar boy.[11] Adelung found the word used for a boy only in low and familiar speech, often with a contemptuous note; politer usage said Knabe.[12] An apprentice, he notes, was called a Junge until his apprenticeship ended, whatever his age.[12]

As the normal word for “boy” Junge comes from Central and Low German usage, and it prevailed over Knabe only in the 20th century; in the south Bub is usual.[1][6][3] Colloquially it also means a young man and serves as a familiar form of address, and in card games it names the jack.[3]

Timeline

  • 8th century – The adjective jung is first recorded in Old High German glosses.[13][8]
  • 9th century – The neuter jungo “young animal” appears.[6]
  • 16th century – Junge is recorded in the sense “boy”.[5][6]
  • 1793 – Adelung calls the word low and familiar and prefers Knabe.[12]
  • 20th century – Junge becomes the standard word for “boy”.[1]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (especially northern Germany) A boy, a male child; also a son: Der Junge spielt mit seiner Schwester im Hof.[3][1]
  2. (colloquial) A young man; often used as a familiar form of address: Na, Junge, wie geht's?[3]
  3. (dated) Short for Lehrjunge: an apprentice.[3][7]
  4. (colloquial) In card games, the jack (knave), also called Bube.[3][1]

Word family

  • Lehrjunge
  • Schuljunge
  • Bauernjunge
  • Küchenjunge

Usage notes

A schwerer Junge is colloquially a violent criminal, and die blauen Jungs are sailors, after their blue uniform;[3] Junge, Junge! expresses surprise.[3] The neuter das Junge “young animal”, Old High German jungo or jungi (9th century), is an older nominalisation of the same adjective, with its own verb jungen “to give birth to young” (15th century).[6][14]

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, 2375
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  4. ^ a b Lexer, Matthias (1872–1878), Mittelhochdeutsches Handwörterbuch, 3 vols., Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 1, 1489
  5. ^ a b Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 459
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ a b Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
  8. ^ a b c Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 458
  9. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  10. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  11. ^ Anderson, Robert R.; Goebel, Ulrich; Reichmann, Oskar, eds. (1989–), Frühneuhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter; FWB-online, fwb-online.de
  12. ^ a b c Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf, p. 2, 1448
  13. ^ Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. 5, 315
  14. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling