Leben

Forms

Leben n (genitive Lebens, plural Leben)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German leben, inherited from Old High German lebēn (“life, way of life”), the infinitive of the verb leben used as a noun.^[2][3][4] In the older language the word for “life” was Old High German līb, the ancestor of Leib; as that word turned to the sense “body”, the infinitive used as a noun took its place, rarely in late Old High German and often in Middle High German.^[2][5][3] Gothic formed the noun 𐌻𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌹𐌽𐍃 (libains) from the verb, and English kept the old word in life.^[5]

The verb is Proto-Germanic *libjaną (“to live”), also continued by Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌽 (liban), Old Norse lifa and Old English libban.^[1][6] Kluge and Kroonen take it as the durative or stative verb beside the strong verb of bleiben, so that it first meant “to remain”;^[6][7] the meaning “to remain” is still found in Old Norse.^[8][7] Wiktionary traces it to Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“to stick, remain”),^[1] and the Duden to the root Proto-Indo-European *lei- (“to be slimy, sticky”) of Leim.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The noun is recorded from about 1000, in Notker, Otloh's prayer and the glosses, meaning “life, existence, way of life, lifetime” and “dealings with others”.^[2][9][10] It was declined as an infinitive at first: Otloh prays to enjoy alla mînes lebannes (“all my life”).^[5]

Semantic evolution

The infinitival declension lasted long, but the ordinary neuter declension appeared as the word became a full noun, as in the Nibelungenlied's ob wir bî lebene bestân (“if we stay alive”).^[5] Middle High German leben also meant “way of life, rank, religious order”.^[2] A plural is still rare, because the word grew out of an infinitive.^[5] The sense “lively activity, bustle” is modern.^[2]

Lebenslauf (17th century) translates Latin curriculum vitae, Lebensmittel “food” dates from the 17th century, and Lebensqualität (second half of the 20th century) follows English quality of life.^[3][2] Lebensraum was borrowed into Hebrew, and English took Lebensform in 1937.^[11]

Timeline

• c. 1000 – Old High German lebēn “life” appears in Notker.^[2][9]
• 17th century – Lebenslauf and Lebensmittel are recorded.^[2][3]
• 1937 – English records the borrowing Lebensform.^[11]
• Second half of the 20th century – Lebensqualität is formed after English quality of life.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. Life, the state of being alive; existence: Leben und Tod.^[4][1]
2. The time from birth to death, a lifetime: ihr ganzes Leben lang.^[4][1]
3. A person's way of living or circumstances: ein ruhiges Leben führen.^[4][1]
4. Lively activity, bustle: auf dem Markt war viel Leben.^[4][2]
5. An account of someone's life, a biography.^[1]
6. (games) One of the tries left to a player after a virtual death.^[12]

Word family

• Lebenslauf
• Lebensmittel
• Lebensqualität
• Lebensraum
• Lebenszeit
• Lebensart

Related words

• leben
• Leib
• bleiben
• lebendig

Usage notes

Ums Leben kommen is to lose one's life in an accident, and sich das Leben nehmen to kill oneself.^[4] Das ewige Leben is the Christian life in eternity.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 e f Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2014), 5th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin / Mannheim / Zürich: Dudenverlag
4. ^ a b c d e f g Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
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. 12, 409
6. ^ a b Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 565
7. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
8. ^ Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 12, 397
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. 194
11. ^ a b Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de
12. ^ Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org