Stand

Forms

Stand m (genitive Standes or Stands, plural Stände, diminutive Ständchen n or Ständlein n or Standl n or Standerl n)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German stant (“standing, place of standing”), inherited from Old High German *stant, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *stand.^[2][3][1][4] The Old High German noun is found only in compounds: firstant (“understanding, wisdom”) in the Isidor translation (late 8th century) and urstant (“resurrection”) (11th century).^[3][5][6] The noun is also Middle Low German stant and Middle Dutch stant, and there is a noun Old English stand (“delay”).^[2][7][8]

It is a verbal noun from the nasal present stem of Proto-Germanic *standaną (“to stand”), seen in Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽 (standan), Old Norse standa, standan and stantan, continued in English stand.^[2][3][7] That present is a nasalized form of a dental extension of the root of stehen, which it partly replaced and partly supplemented.^[2] If Hittite ištantāi- (“to hesitate, linger”) belongs here, the formation must be very old.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The simple noun is recorded from the 14th century.^[8][9] Middle High German stant meant a standing place or seat, a shooting stand, a truce (gütlîcher stant), continuance, condition and way of life, and an office or rank.^[10][11]

Semantic evolution

Paul explains the senses from the way something stands: position in space (the level of the water, the position of the sun), then situation and condition, as in der Stand der Dinge, where it overlaps with Zustand.^[9] The phrase imstande sein “to be able” is perhaps a loan translation of French être en état.^[9]

From the 14th century Stand was a social term, at first with the idea of a God-given order; since the 15th century it has named groups by their function in society: the clerical and secular estates, Bauernstand and Bürgerstand, and der dritte Stand after French tiers état.^[9][4] The plural Stände named the representatives of the estates in the assemblies of the Middle Ages and the early modern period, whence ständisch (18th century).^[4][3] In Switzerland a canton has been called a Stand since the 16th century, from the sense “legal condition, commonwealth”, a parallel to Staat.^[12] When civil registration was introduced in the German Empire in 1875, the offices were named Standesamt after the personal Stand.^[9]

The sense “stall, booth” at a market or fair passed into Hungarian stand (“market stall”) (1878).^[4][13] Derivatives include Ständchen (17th century, at first student slang, music performed standing in someone's honour), Standgericht (about 1500, a court that originally sat standing) and Standpunkt (18th century).^[3][7]

Timeline

• Late 8th century – Old High German firstant in the Isidor translation.^[6][5]
• 11th century – urstant “resurrection” is recorded.^[3]
• 14th century – The simple noun stant appears.^[9][8]
• 15th century – Stand names social groups such as the clergy.^[9]
• c. 1500 – Standgericht is recorded.^[3]
• 16th century – Stand means a Swiss canton.^[12]
• 17th century – Ständchen appears in student language.^[7]
• 1875 – Standesamt is introduced in the German Empire.^[9]
• 1878 – Hungarian stand “market stall” is recorded.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. Upright standing on one's feet, footing; also standing still: Sie verlor auf dem Eis den Stand.^[4][12]
2. A place to stand, such as a hunter's or marksman's position, a shooting range or a driver's cab.^[4][12]
3. A stall or booth where goods are sold or information is offered, as at a market or a trade fair; also a box in a stable: ein Stand mit Obst.^[4][1][12]
4. The stage reached in a development at a given time; the condition of something; a reading or value at a given moment: der Stand der Forschung, der Stand des Kontos.^[4][1][12]
5. Status: marital status (Familienstand) or profession (Berufsstand).^[4][12]
6. A social estate or class in a hierarchical society;^[4][1][12] (plural, history) the representatives of the estates in political assemblies.^[4][1][12]
7. (Switzerland) A canton.^[4][1][12]
8. (hunting) The stock of game in a hunting ground.^[4][12]

Word family

• ständisch
• Ständchen
• ständig
• standhaft
• Standpunkt
• Standgericht
• Standesamt
• Standort

Related words

• stehen
• Stunde
• Ständer
• Zustand
• Verstand
• Widerstand
• English stand

Usage notes

Einen schweren Stand haben (colloquial) is to find it hard to assert oneself, and aus dem Stand means “without a run-up” or “off the cuff”.^[4] In den Stand der Ehe treten is an elevated way of saying “to marry”.^[4] The prepositional phrases imstande, außerstande, instand and zustande may also be written separately.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 876
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
5. ^ a b Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. 3, 312
6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
7. ^ a b c d Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag
8. ^ a b c Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 17, 683
9. ^ a b c d e f g h Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
10. ^ Lexer, Matthias (1872–1878), Mittelhochdeutsches Handwörterbuch, 3 vols., Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 2, 1137
11. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
13. ^ a b Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de