Etymologically
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Motto

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Forms

Motto n (genitive Mottos, plural Mottos or Motti)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian motto (“motto; witty saying, (formerly) word”), borrowed in the 18th century.[2][3][4] The Italian word goes back, like French mot (“word”), to Late Latin muttum (“a mutter, grunt”), a back-formation from Latin muttiō (“to mutter, murmur”).[3][5][6] Pfeifer leaves open whether Italian took it from Old French mot or directly from the Latin noun, with only its meaning influenced by the French word.[3] Kluge calls its origin unclear and thinks it probably imitative, like the Latin verb.[2][5] The same word is Dutch motto, English motto, Swedish motto and Icelandic mottó.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Motto is first listed in Nehring's dictionary of 1717, as a maxim or device.[4][7] Literary use follows from 1761, when Hamann writes of a motto from Persius, and in 1764 Herder speaks of dithyrambs mit dem Motto.[4]

Semantic evolution

The word was used for a short saying placed at the head of a book, chapter or poem, and for a guiding principle;[4][7] Lichtenberg (1774) praises ein schönes Motto, and Schiller mocks a journalist in the Xenien: Setze nur immer Mottos auf deine Journale, sie zeigen / Alle die Tugenden an, die man an dir nicht bemerkt (“Go on putting mottos on your journals: they announce all the virtues one does not notice in you”).[4][7] Beside the Italian plural Motti, the German plural Mottos is used.[7][1] Hungarian borrowed the word as mottó (1791).[8]

Timeline

  • 1717 – Motto is listed by Nehring.[4][7]
  • 1761 – Hamann uses the word.[4]
  • 1764 – Herder writes of dithyrambs with a motto.[4]
  • 1782 – Schlözer explains the motto on a title page.[4]
  • 1791 – Hungarian mottó is recorded.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A motto, maxim or slogan that someone lives or acts by, or under which an event is held: Das Fest stand unter dem Motto „Bunte Nacht“.[9][1]
  2. An epigraph: a sentence placed at the head of a book or chapter to sum up its content or purpose.[9]
  • Bonmot
  • Motette
  • Italian motto

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 637
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Schulz, Hans; Basler, Otto, et al. (1913–1988), Deutsches Fremdwörterbuch, 7 vols., Strasbourg / Berlin: Trübner / De Gruyter; 2nd ed., ed. Gerhard Strauß et al. (1995–), Berlin / New York: De Gruyter; via OWID, Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache
  5. ^ a b Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag
  6. ^ Wahrig-Burfeind, Renate, ed., Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch, Gütersloh / München: Wissen Media Verlag; online edition at wissen.de
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ a b Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de
  9. ^ a b Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag