Etymologically
Log in

Politiker

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 20 October 2026 at 18:01. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /poˈliːtikɐ/[1]

Forms

Politiker m (genitive Politikers, plural Politiker, feminine Politikerin)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin politicus (“statesman”), a noun use of the Latin adjective polīticus (“of the state, political”), from Ancient Greek πολιτικός (polītikós, “of citizens, of the state”), from πολίτης (polī́tēs, “citizen”), from πόλις (pólis, “city, state”).[2][3][4][5] The Latin ending was replaced by the German agent suffix -er, so that the word can also be read as a derivative of Politik.[1][6] Kluge lists it as the agent noun of the family of politisch, which German took from French in the 16th century.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Pfeifer and Duden date the word to the 18th century.[2][3] The Grimms' dictionary quotes it from Schupp, Weidner and Klopstock;[4] Klopstock counts Politiker among the scholars of law and notes that rulers often laughed at learned ones.[4]

Semantic evolution

Schiller used die Politiker for the French party of the politiques, and Heine wrote of short-sighted Politiker who resort only to palliatives.[4] Beside it the Latin form Politikus was used jokingly for a sly, scheming person, like Pfiffikus.[4] Today it names someone who holds a political office, usually as a member of a party.[5]

Timeline

  • 16th century – The adjective politisch is borrowed.[7]
  • Mid-17th century – Politik is borrowed from French.[2]
  • 18th century – Politiker “statesman” is recorded.[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A politician: someone who takes an active part in politics, usually holding a political office as a member of a Partei: Die Politikerin sprach vor dem Landtag.[5][1]
  2. A statesman.[8]

Word family

  • Politikerin
  • Berufspolitiker

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d 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 Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2007), 4th ed., Duden vol. 7, Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  4. ^ 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. 13, 1979
  5. ^ a b c Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  6. ^ Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
  7. ^ a b Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 714
  8. ^ Duden. Das Fremdwörterbuch (2007), 9th ed., Duden vol. 5, Mannheim: Dudenverlag