Etymologically
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Mitarbeiter

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈmɪtarˌbaɪ̯tər/, [ˈmɪ.taʁˌbaɪ̯.tɐ], [-taɐ̯-][1]

Forms

Mitarbeiter m (genitive Mitarbeiters, plural Mitarbeiter, feminine Mitarbeiterin)[1]

Etymology

It is from German mit + Arbeiter, formed by Luther as a loan translation of the New Testament word Ancient Greek συνεργός (sunergós, “fellow worker”).[2][3][4] Paul places it in Luther's version of 1 Corinthians 3:9 in the edition of 1546, and compares Medieval Latin collaborator.[3]

The first part, mit, is the old adverb and preposition, Old High German mit(i), Proto-Germanic *midi (“with”), also found in Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐌸 (miþ) and Old English mid; it is probably related to Ancient Greek μετά (metá, “among, with”).[5][2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Luther's Bible the word renders Paul's description of the apostles as God's fellow workers (1 Corinthians 3:9), “one who works together with others on the same task”.[3][6][2]

Semantic evolution

Kaspar Stieler in 1691 used it to Germanise College “colleague”.[3] In the 18th and early 19th centuries it was often used of contributors to a periodical or a learned work: Herder speaks of becoming a contributor to the Literaturbriefe, and Goethe of the contributors to a journal.[7] Adelung defined it as a person who does the same work as another, especially on the same object.[6] Today it usually means a member of a firm or institution, an employee.[3][8]

Timeline

  • 1546 – Luther's Bible uses Mitarbeiter for Greek synergós (1 Corinthians 3:9).[3]
  • 1691 – Stieler records it as a German word for College.[3]
  • 1793 – Adelung records the feminine Mitarbeiterinn.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An employee, a member of the staff of a firm or institution.[8][1]
  2. A contributor to an institution, a newspaper or a learned work: ein freier Mitarbeiter is a freelance.[8]
  3. A collaborator or assistant who works with someone, often in a dependent position.[8][1]

Word family

  • Mitarbeiterin
  • mitarbeiten

Usage notes

With a possessive pronoun (meine Mitarbeiter) the word is used only by a superior, meaning the staff under them.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c 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 g 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 Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2007), 4th ed., Duden vol. 7, Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  5. ^ Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 627
  6. ^ a b c Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf
  7. ^ Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 12, 2338
  8. ^ a b c d e Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag