Stiftung

Forms

Stiftung f (genitive Stiftung, plural Stiftungen)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German stiftunge, inherited from Old High German stiftunga, formed from Old High German stiften + -unga.^[2][3][4] The verb, gistiften (8th century), stiften (9th century), first meant “to build, found”, as did Old Frisian stifta; in Dutch and Low German the form has /cht/, as Dutch stichten.^[5][6] Its origin is unclear.^[5] Kluge thinks two roots may have mixed in the north, comparing Old English stihtian (“to arrange, found”).^[5] Pfeifer, assuming a basic sense “to put up a building on wooden posts”, would connect it with Stift “peg” and the root of steif.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The only Old High German record, in glosses of the third quarter of the 9th century, has stiftunga in the sense “trick, crafty plot, machination”.^[4] The verb was then used of founding buildings, towns and places of worship.^[6]

Semantic evolution

In Early New High German stiftung meant the founding of an institution meant to last, including its legal confirmation and the charter, and the gift, usually by wealthy persons, by which a church or other institution was endowed and maintained; it could also mean the institution of the Lord's Supper, seen as Christ's foundation.^[7] The Zürich chronicle of 1519 begins “von anfang der stiftung der statt Zürich” (“from the beginning of the founding of the city of Zürich”).^[3] As with the verb, which moved from building to having built, providing and giving, both church and secular charitable endowments came to be called Stiftung.^[6][7] In modern law it is an endowment bound to a purpose and the institution it funds.^[2] Its counterpart in Dutch is stichting.^[1]

Timeline

• 3rd quarter of the 9th century – Old High German stiftunga “machination” in glosses.^[4]
• 1519 – The Zürich chronicle speaks of the founding of the city.^[3]
• 1551 – Carbach's Livius counts years from the founding of Rome.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (law) A donation or endowment tied to a particular purpose, by which something is founded or supported: Das Museum lebt von einer privaten Stiftung.^[2][1]
2. A foundation: an institution financed and maintained by such an endowment: eine Stiftung des öffentlichen Rechts.^[2][1]
3. The act of donating something: Die Stiftung der neuen Orgel verdankt die Gemeinde einem Bäcker.^[2]

Related words

• stiften
• Stifter
• Stift
• anstiften

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
3. ^ a b c d Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 18, 2900
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
5. ^ a b c Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 885
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b Anderson, Robert R.; Goebel, Ulrich; Reichmann, Oskar, eds. (1989–), Frühneuhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter; FWB-online, fwb-online.de