Lauf

Forms

Lauf m (genitive Laufes or Laufs, plural Läufe)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German louf, inherited from Old High German hlouf, inherited from Proto-Germanic *hlaupą (“leap; course, run”), the noun of the verb laufen.^[2][1][3] The same noun is Middle Low German lōp, Middle Dutch loop and Dutch loop (“course, run”), and, as a neuter, Old Norse hlaup (“leap, run, gallop”); Old English hlīep (“leap”) has another stem formation.^[2][4] The verb is common Germanic, with Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐌷𐌻𐌰𐌿𐍀𐌰𐌽 (ushlaupan, “to leap up”), Old Norse hlaupa, Old English hlēapan and Old Frisian hlāpa, and English leap.^[3][2] Beside it Old High German had an abstract noun with a t-suffix, louft, which lives on in Zeitläufte.^[2][5]

Its further origin is unclear.^[3][2][4] Kluge and Pfeifer, after Seebold, consider an extension of Proto-Indo-European *keleu-, seen in Lithuanian keliáuti (“to travel”) and Ancient Greek κέλευθος (kéleuthos, “path, journey”).^[3][2] Pfeifer finds a link with Lithuanian šlubúoti (“to limp”) possible in its sounds but unsatisfying in meaning.^[2] The Duden dictionary thinks the verb first meant “to hop, dance in a circle”.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German hlouf is recorded from the 9th century, in glosses and in Otfrid's Gospel book (863–871), meaning a run, a race.^[2][6] The abstract noun louft is older (8th century) and was more frequent;^[2][7][8] Otfrid uses it in the plural.^[2][7][8]

Semantic evolution

Middle High German louf had the senses “course, circuit, way”, used of water, the stars, the year, the world and one's life (lebens louf), and of fast passages in music.^[9][10] The Early New High German dictionary also has a messenger's errand, a race, a riot and the course of events.^[11] As the notion of speed faded in the verb, the noun followed its uses for vehicles, machines and flowing water.^[2][4]

In technical language Lauf became the space in which something runs: the barrel of a gun, already in Arnold von Harff's travel account, and in Schiller's line wenn die Kugel los ist aus dem Lauf (“once the bullet has left the barrel”).^[7][5] Hunters use it for the leg of game and of dogs (Vorderlauf, Hinterlauf), and sport for a race or heat (Hürdenlauf).^[4][5] The plural Läufe meant “events” in Early New High German, as Zeitläufte still does.^[5] Polish borrowed the word as lufa “gun barrel”, and in 1844 it is recorded as school slang for the worst mark;^[12] Slovak and Moravian dialects have lauf for a gun barrel.^[12]

Timeline

• 8th century – The related Old High German abstract louft is recorded.^[2]
• 9th century – Old High German hlouf “run, race” appears.^[2]
• 863–871 – Otfrid uses louf in his Gospel book.^[6]
• 1642 – Laufbahn is recorded in its literal sense, “track on which one runs”.^[5]
• 17th century – Zeitlauf is first recorded, and Zeitläufte follows in the 18th century.^[2]
• 1844 – Polish lufa is recorded as school slang.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. (no plural) Running: sich in Lauf setzen, to break into a run.^[13][1]
2. (sports) A race or heat: Sie gewann den zweiten Lauf.^[13][1]
3. (no plural) The running of a machine or engine: Der Motor hat einen ruhigen Lauf.^[13]
4. (no plural) The course of a road or river: am oberen Lauf der Donau.^[13][1]
5. (no plural) The course of events or time: im Lauf(e) der Woche “during the week”, den Dingen ihren Lauf lassen “to let things take their course”, seinen Lauf nehmen “to take its course”.^[13][1]
6. (music) A run, a quick rising or falling series of notes.^[13][14]
7. (hunting) The leg of certain game animals or of a dog.^[13][1]
8. The barrel of a firearm.^[13][1]

Word family

• Verlauf
• Läufer
• Laufbahn
• Lebenslauf
• Wettlauf
• Zeitläufte

Related words

• laufen
• läufig
• geläufig
• Loipe
• Galopp
• English leap

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 f g h i j k l m n Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
3. ^ a b c d Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 562
4. ^ a b c d e Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag
5. ^ a b c d e Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
7. ^ a b c Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 12, 306
8. ^ a b Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf
9. ^ Lexer, Matthias (1872–1878), Mittelhochdeutsches Handwörterbuch, 3 vols., Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 1, 1966
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 Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de
13. ^ a b c d e f g h Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
14. ^ Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org