Etymologically
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Staat

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Pronunciation

Forms

Staat m (genitive Staates or Staats, plural Staaten)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin status (“standing, position, condition, rank”), a noun formed from stō (“to stand”), borrowed in the 14th century.[2][3][4] Pfeifer finds Middle High German stat “legal condition, equipment” only rarely and uncertainly (one doubtful example may be from the 13th century), but frequent examples from the 14th century on in Hanseatic charters, as Middle Low German stāt “condition, circumstances, rank, standing, display”.[3] Wiktionary takes the word through Middle Low German from Middle Dutch staet, and Kluge explains the striking weak plural in /-en/ by the Dutch model.[1][2]

The political sense was taken over in the 17th century from French état, a word of the same origin, as well as from the modern Dutch word.[2][4][5] According to Kluge it grew on one side out of the sense “form of constitution” and on the other out of “the standing of the prince”, then “all those he rules, the territory he rules”.[2] The same Latin word is behind Dutch staat, English state and Swedish stat.[2] The Grimms firmly reject Jahn's derivation from stehen, although the Latin noun does belong to the same root as the German verb.[6][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the early records the word meant “standing, rank” and “condition”, especially the state of one's property; the latter gave rise to “display, splendour”.[2] Early New High German, widespread from the 15th century, used it for social standing, rank, way of life, the state of one's fortune, the outlay befitting one's rank, and pomp.[3][4]

Semantic evolution

Until the 16th century the German senses followed the general Latin and Medieval Latin use of status;[3] Pfeifer notes that Latin itself had started towards politics with Cicero's status cīvitātis and status reī pūblicae, without lasting effect.[3] From the 17th century the word widened with the growth of the European states, partly under the influence of Italian stato and French état, to take in the territory, the administration, the treasury, the prince's sovereign rights and the representation of power.[3] Paul shows the path through Dutch: the plural first referred to the estates of the Netherlands, hence Generalstaaten, and the general political sense is recorded in Schottelius in 1663; from the French Revolution on it became the basic term for an independent political community.[7]

The old sense “outlay, splendour” lived on beside it and in everyday speech came to mean finery and fine clothes, as in sich in Staat werfen (18th century), Staat machen “to dress up” (19th century) and the older Staat von etwas machen “to make a fuss about something” (around 1700).[3] From the prince's household came Hofstaat, recorded from the end of the 15th century.[3] Russian borrowed the word as штат (štat), used for a federal state and for a staff of employees.[1][8]

Timeline

  • 14th century – The word is borrowed from Latin, first in Middle Low German charters.[2][3]
  • 15th century – It is recorded with certainty in High German, in the sense “rank, condition”.[6][3]
  • End of the 15th century – Hofstaat “princely household” appears.[3]
  • 1663 – Schottelius uses the word for a political community.[7]
  • 17th century – The political sense becomes established after French état.[5][4]
  • Around 1700 – Staat von etwas machen “to make a fuss of something”.[3]
  • 18th century – Staatsbürger “citizen” is formed.[3]
  • Early 19th century – The adjective staatlich gets its political sense.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A state: the whole of the institutions that secure the ordered life of the people in a territory, and the government and authorities.[9][1]
  2. A country, considered as a political unit;[9][10] die Staaten (colloquial) are the United States.[9][10]
  3. A constituent state of a federation;[9][10] (Switzerland) a canton.[9][10]
  4. (zoology) An insect colony, such as that of bees or ants.[9][10]
  5. (colloquial, dated) Festive finery, best clothes.[9][1]
  6. (dated) The retinue of a high-ranking person.[9][1]
  7. Display, show: Staat machen is to make a great show, and mit etwas keinen Staat machen können to be unable to impress with something.[9]

Word family

  • staatlich
  • verstaatlichen
  • Staatsangehörigkeit
  • Staatsanwalt
  • Staatsbürger
  • Staatsmann
  • Staatsstreich
  • Hofstaat
  • staatenlos
  • Status
  • Etat
  • stattlich
  • Station

Usage notes

Ein Staat im Staate, a powerful organisation that escapes the state's control and competes with it, is a fixed phrase;[9] von Staats wegen means “on the initiative of a state authority”.[9] Paul quotes Schlegel's translation of Hamlet, Etwas ist faul im Staate Dänemark.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 873
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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 Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 809
  5. ^ a b Wahrig-Burfeind, Renate, ed., Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch, Gütersloh / München: Wissen Media Verlag; online edition at wissen.de
  6. ^ a b Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 17, 270
  7. ^ a b c Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
  8. ^ Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  10. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org