Leitung

Forms

Leitung f (genitive Leitung, plural Leitungen)^[1]

Etymology

It is from German leiten + -ung, already Middle High German as leitunge (“leading, guidance”).^[1][2][3] The verb is Middle High German leiten, Old High German leiten, from Proto-Germanic *laidijaną (“to lead”), properly “to make go”, the causative of the verb continued by leiden (originally “to go”).^[3][4][5] The same verb is Old Saxon lēdian, Old English lǣdan, Old Norse leiða, Dutch leiden and English lead, and the English noun leading matches the German one.^[3][4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Middle High German leitunge “guidance, direction” is recorded in Tauler, before 1350.^[2][6] Pfeifer dates Leitung to the 16th century, with the senses “leading, guiding”, “the persons in charge” and “a device for conveying something, especially pipes”.^[4][7]

Semantic evolution

Sixteenth-century dictionaries give it for directing and governing as well as for the conveying of water, and the Grimms record the extension to the pipes themselves, as in Gasleitung and Wasserleitung.^[8][4] Mining and clockmaking used it for devices that guide a moving part.^[8] In the 19th century it was applied to wires and cables carrying electric current and signals,^[4][7] and so to the telephone line.^[9] The colloquial eine lange Leitung haben “to be slow on the uptake” goes back to the early days of telecommunication, when long lines made the connection slow.^[9] Upper Silesian Polish borrowed the word as lajtong.^[10]

Timeline

• Before 1350 – Middle High German leitunge is used by Tauler.^[2]
• 16th century – Leitung means leading and management, and a conduit for water.^[4][7]
• 19th century – The word is applied to electric wires and cables.^[4][7]

Meanings

Noun

1. (no plural) Management, direction, the act or office of leading: Die Leitung des Chors liegt bei Frau Berger.^[9][1]
2. The persons in charge, the management team: Die Leitung hat neue Regeln beschlossen.^[9]
3. (no plural) Guidance, supervision of a person.^[9][7]
4. A pipe or system of pipes for water, gas or other substances: Im Winter ist die Leitung eingefroren.^[9][1]
5. An electric cable or wire: Über dem Feld hängt eine Leitung.^[9][1]
6. A telephone line: Ich bekomme keine freie Leitung.^[9][1]
7. (physics) conduction.^[1]

Word family

• Wasserleitung
• Gasleitung
• Rohrleitung
• Leitungswasser

Related words

• leiten
• Leiter
• Geleit
• Anleitung
• Einleitung
• leiden
• Lotse
• English lead

Usage notes

Eine lange Leitung haben or auf der Leitung stehen (“to stand on the line”) is said of someone who is slow to understand.^[9][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
3. ^ a b c Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 571
4. ^ 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
5. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
6. ^ Benecke, Georg Friedrich; Müller, Wilhelm; Zarncke, Friedrich (1854–1866), Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 3 vols. in 4, Leipzig: Hirzel, p. 1, 976b
7. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
8. ^ a b Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 12, 741
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
10. ^ Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de