Studie

Forms

Studie f (genitive Studie, plural Studien)^[1]

Etymology

It is a back-formation from the plural of Studium, with a change of gender, at the end of the 18th century.^[2][3][4] That noun is from Latin studium (“zeal, eager pursuit; study”), a noun of studeō (“to be eager for, apply oneself to”), the source of studieren, borrowed in the 13th century.^[5][4][2] The plural was used in the sense of the results of studying a subject, as in compounds such as Studienreise, and its new singular took this concrete meaning.^[2][4] Studio came by another route, from Italian studio.^[5][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Deutsches Fremdwörterbuch's first record is of 1794, of an artist's studies from nature, still in the plural: zwei Studien nach der Natur for the head of Portia.^[2] The Grimms' dictionary finds the singular Studie only from the beginning of the 19th century, first in the fine arts as a practice piece or model to be copied: Heinrich von Kleist wrote that a body could serve an artist as a Studie.^[6]

Semantic evolution

In painting and drawing Studie came to mean a first attempt, a sketch for a larger work, and Gottfried Keller and Mörike use it of an artist's sketches;^[6] Stifter treats it as an art form of its own.^[6] In music it meant a study or étude, as in Robert Schumann.^[6][2] Later came the scholarly and literary sense, a piece of preparatory work, which led to the modern main sense, a scholarly investigation of a particular question.^[6][3] In chess a Studie is a composed endgame position.^[2][3]

Timeline

• 13th century – studieren is borrowed from Latin.^[5]
• 1794 – Studien nach der Natur, artist's studies.^[2]
• Early 19th century – The singular Studie appears, first in the fine arts.^[6]
• 19th century – Used in music of an étude.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A scholarly study, an investigation of a particular question: Eine neue Studie untersucht den Schlaf von Schulkindern.^[3][1]
2. A sketch or preparatory work for a larger work, especially of art: Der Maler fertigte mehrere Studien von Händen an.^[3][7]
3. (chess) A composed endgame.^[3][2]

Word family

• Vorstudie

Related words

• Studium
• studieren
• Student
• Studio
• Etüde

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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
3. ^ a b c d e f Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
4. ^ a b c d Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2007), 4th ed., Duden vol. 7, Mannheim: Dudenverlag
5. ^ a b c Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 894
6. ^ a b c d e f g Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 20, 271
7. ^ Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org