Student

Forms

Student m (genitive Studenten, plural Studenten, feminine Studentin)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German studente, borrowed from Medieval Latin studēns (“student”) (taken in an inflected form), the present participle of Latin studeō (“to be eager for, strive after; to study”) used as a noun.^[2][3][4][1] The noun took shape in the school language of Medieval Latin, probably in the phrase frātrēs studentēs, the younger Dominican and Franciscan friars who devoted themselves to learning.^[5][6][2] The same Latin word gave Middle Dutch student and Middle English student.^[5] The verb studieren was taken separately from the Latin verb, in the 13th century.^[2][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first records, from the 14th century, mean pupils studying theology at the higher schools of the religious orders.^[6][3][5] Hermann von Fritzlar (about 1340) writes of masters who came mit iren studenten “with their students”, and the Grimms date the Middle High German word to the 13th century.^[3][5] Heinrich Seuse also used studente “pupil, student”.^[8]

Semantic evolution

Already in 1365 a document speaks of the Maister vnd Studenten der Hochen Schul zu Wien, the masters and students of the University of Vienna.^[3] From the 15th century on, the usual sense was a member of a university.^[6] Early New High German used the word also for older pupils at Latin schools and for wandering scholars, often shown as poor learners and free in their morals.^[9] At the end of the 17th century Student competed with Bursche as the students' own name, and Campe proposed Hochschüler instead.^[6] The feminine Studentin was taken up by Gerhart Hauptmann in 1891, and Studierende (1893) groups men and women together.^[6] Studentenfutter, a mixture of nuts and raisins, is recorded by Stieler in 1691.^[6]

In Austria, and formerly elsewhere in the south, a Student is also a pupil of a secondary school.^[4][10][6] The word was borrowed into Polish as student and into Slovene as študent.^[1][11]

Timeline

• c. 1340 – Hermann von Fritzlar uses studente.^[3][5]
• 1365 – Studenten of the University of Vienna.^[3]
• 15th century – The usual sense becomes “member of a university”.^[6]
• 1691 – Stieler records Studentenfutter.^[6]
• 1891 – Gerhart Hauptmann uses Studentin.^[6]
• 1893 – Studierende is recorded.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A student: a person studying at a university or college: Mein Bruder ist Student der Chemie.^[4][10][1]
2. (Austria, otherwise dated) A pupil at a secondary school.^[4][10]

Word family

• Studentin
• studentisch
• Studentenfutter
• Werkstudent
• Studentenschaft

Related words

• studieren
• Studium
• Studie
• Studio
• Studiosus
• English student

Usage notes

Ein ewiger Student (colloquial) is someone who has studied for many terms without taking a degree.^[4] The abbreviation stud. (stud. med., stud. phil.) stands for Latin studiosus.^[4][2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f 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
4. ^ a b c d e f Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
5. ^ a b c d e Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 20, 259
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
7. ^ Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2007), 4th ed., Duden vol. 7, Mannheim: Dudenverlag
8. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
9. ^ Anderson, Robert R.; Goebel, Ulrich; Reichmann, Oskar, eds. (1989–), Frühneuhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter; FWB-online, fwb-online.de
10. ^ a b c Duden. Das Fremdwörterbuch (2007), 9th ed., Duden vol. 5, Mannheim: Dudenverlag
11. ^ Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de