Stimmung

Forms

Stimmung f (genitive Stimmung, plural Stimmungen)^[1]

Etymology

It is from German stimmen + -ung.^[1][2][3] Kluge explains that two derivatives of Stimme “voice” fell together in the verb: one meaning “to call, to raise one's voice”, and one from Old High German gistimmi (“harmonious, having the same voice”), through (gi)stimnen, which gave the sense “to tune an instrument”.^[3] That noun is Old High German stimna, from Proto-Germanic *stemnō; the same word is Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌹𐌱𐌽𐌰 (stibna) and Old English stefn.^[4][5] Its further origin is unknown;^[4][5][6] Pfeifer thinks a connection with Ancient Greek στόμα (stóma, “mouth”) possible.^[4][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Grimms' dictionary dates the musical sense to the 16th century: Martin Agricola writes in 1529 of the stymmung of the descant viol, meaning the act of tuning it.^[7] In 1575 Rivius's translation of Vitruvius uses stimmung for a sound of the voice, from which words were formed.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The tuned state of an instrument, rather than the act of tuning, is recorded from the end of the 17th century, as in an organ-building manual of 1690.^[7] The musical image was then transferred to the mind: from the 1770s Stimmung named a state of feeling, and the Grimms see the figurative uses of the musical sense as the step before the modern one;^[7][4] Goethe in particular used it for a disposition to creative work.^[7][4] The word was soon also used of the feelings prevailing in a place or a time, the mood of a people or of the public.^[7][8] In the 19th century it came to mean the atmosphere given off by a work of art or a landscape, and the adjective stimmungsvoll was formed.^[4] English has used Stimmung as a German word for mood or atmosphere since 1909.^[9]

Timeline

• 1529 – Agricola uses stymmung of tuning a viol.^[7]
• 1575 – stimmung for a sound of the voice.^[7]
• 1690 – The tuned state of an organ.^[7]
• 1770s – The sense “state of mind, mood”.^[7][4]
• 19th century – The atmosphere of a work of art or landscape;^[4] stimmungsvoll.^[4]
• 1909 – First record in English.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person's mood at a given moment: Nach dem Anruf war ihre Stimmung bestens.^[8][1][2]
2. The atmosphere among a group of people; a lively, cheerful mood: Auf der Hochzeit war viel Stimmung.^[8][1][2]
3. (plural) Changing moods.^[8]
4. The impression or feeling that something gives, as a landscape or a painting.^[8][2]
5. The prevailing opinion or attitude, for or against someone or something: Die Stimmung im Land schlug um.^[8][1][2]
6. (music) The fixed pitch of an instrument; also its being in or out of tune.^[8][1][2]

Word family

• Goldgräberstimmung
• Stimmungskanone
• stimmungsvoll

Related words

• Stimme
• stimmen
• stimmig
• bestimmen

Usage notes

Jemandem die Stimmung verderben is to spoil someone's good mood, and in Stimmung sein is to be in good spirits.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
3. ^ a b Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 886
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
5. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2007), 4th ed., Duden vol. 7, Mannheim: Dudenverlag
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 18, 3127
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
9. ^ a b Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de