Start
Pronunciation
- /ʃtaʁt/, /ʃtaːt/[1]
Forms
Start m (genitive Startes or Starts, plural Starts or Starte)[1]
Etymology
It is borrowed from English start, borrowed in the second half of the 19th century in the language of horse racing.[2][3][4] The English noun is a nominalization of the verb “to start”, Middle English sterten, Old English sturtian (“to leap up”), which is distantly related to stürzen by ablaut.[3][5][6][2] The verb starten was borrowed at about the same time.[7][3] Dutch start and Swedish start were borrowed in the same way.[2]
Earliest recorded meaning
Sanders' dictionary lists the word in 1871.[6] The first quotation, from 1872, describes someone stepping up to the start of a steeplechase with a pounding heart.[4] It first meant the post or place from which racehorses set off, then the beginning of the race itself.[3][6][4]
Semantic evolution
From horse racing it spread to other sports, such as running, swimming, motor and ski races, with phrases like fliegender Start (recorded 1910) and an den Start gehen; it also came to mean taking part in a contest.[4][6] In the 20th century it came to mean departure in general, especially the take-off of an aircraft or a rocket, as in Senkrechtstart, and figuratively the start of an undertaking, as in Sternheim's Start in ein neues Sein (1926).[3][6][4] The colloquial Senkrechtstarter is someone who makes a rapid career.[6] Hungarian start is recorded from 1875.[8]
Timeline
- 1871 – Sanders' dictionary lists Start.[6]
- 1872 – First quotation, from horse racing.[4]
- 1875 – Hungarian start is recorded.[8]
- 1910 – Fliegender Start is recorded.[6]
- 1926 – Sternheim uses the word figuratively for a new beginning.[6]
- 20th century – It comes to mean the take-off of an aircraft and the beginning of an undertaking.[3][4]
Meanings
Noun
- The beginning of a race or contest.[9][1]
- The starting line or place of a race.[9][1]
- Taking part in a contest.[9][4]
- The takeoff of an aircraft, rocket or balloon; also the place of take-off.[9][1]
- (computing) Starting up a machine, a system or a program.[9]
- The beginning of an undertaking or a development; setting out towards a goal: ein guter Start ins Studium.[9][1]
Word family
- starten
- Starter
- Fehlstart
- Senkrechtstarter
Related words
- stürzen
- English start
Usage notes
In motor and cycle racing, a fliegender Start is one in which the competitors cross the line already moving, and a stehender Start one from a standstill.[9][4] Am Start sein is to be taking part.[1][9]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 877
- ^ a b c d e f Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
- ^ 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
- ^ Wahrig-Burfeind, Renate, ed., Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch, Gütersloh / München: Wissen Media Verlag; online edition at wissen.de
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
- ^ Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 814
- ^ a b Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de
- ^ a b c d e f g h Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag