Tür

Forms

Tür f (genitive Tür, plural Türen, diminutive Türchen n or Türlein n or Türl n)^[1] The older spelling was Thür or Thüre.^[2][1] The form Türe, Middle High German türe, is still used in Central and Southern German.^[3][1] Older texts, as late as Gryphius, could give the dative singular the weak ending of the plural, as under der thüren.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German tür, inherited from Old High German turi, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *dur, inherited from Proto-Germanic *durīz (“door”).^[1][4] The Old High German word was originally a plural, the two wings of a door, which German reinterpreted as a singular.^[4][3][2] The Germanic noun mostly appears in the dual or plural, as in Gothic 𐌳𐌰𐌿𐍂𐍉𐌽𐍃 (daurōns) and Old Norse dyrr, beside Old English duru, Old Frisian dore and Old Saxon duri; it is continued in Dutch deur, English door and Swedish dörr.^[4][5] Kroonen explains the Norse and German forms from an old dual Proto-Indo-European *dʰur-ih₁.^[5]

The source is Proto-Indo-European *dʰwer- (“door”), an ablauting word also found in Ancient Greek θύρα (thúra), Latin forēs (a plural), Lithuanian dùrys and Old Church Slavonic двьри (dvĭri), and with a different initial in Sanskrit द्वार (dvā́ra).^[4][6] The word Tor “gate” is closely related.^[4][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German turi is recorded from the 8th century, meaning “door, gate, portal”, in the Benedictine Rule, Isidor, the Monsee fragments, the Murbach hymns, the Tatian, Otfrid, Notker and Williram, and in the glosses.^[4][8] Beside it stood a form tura.^[9]

Semantic evolution

Early New High German used tür for the entrance of a house, a cave or a tomb, for the wing that closes it, and figuratively for the door of the heart or of heaven, often in the pair tür und tor.^[10][3] Many phrases are recorded from the 16th century: Luther has the Last Day fur der thur (“at the door”, near at hand), and mit der Tür ins Haus fallen “to come straight out with something” is recorded in the same century.^[3] Einer Sache Tür und Tor öffnen, to let something in freely, refers to the farmhouse, with a door for people and a gate for cattle and carts.^[11]

Zwischen Tür und Angel has changed its meaning several times: in the 14th century it meant being in a tight spot, two centuries later being at a loss, and today it means in passing, in a hurry.^[11] The Tag der offenen Tür, the open day of an institution, is a modern use.^[3] Türangel, the hinge pin of a door, dates from the 15th century.^[7]

Timeline

• 8th century – Old High German turi is first recorded.^[4]
• 14th century – zwischen Tür und Angel means being in distress.^[11]
• 15th century – First record of Türangel.^[7]
• 16th century – mit der Tür ins Haus fallen is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A door: a usually rectangular panel hung on hinges that closes a passage: Die Tür klemmt schon wieder.^[12][1]
2. A doorway, the opening in a wall that a door closes: Sie blieb in der Tür stehen.^[12][1]
3. A similar, usually smaller door of a cupboard, an oven or a vehicle, and the opening it closes: ein Kombi mit fünf Türen.^[12]

Word family

• Türangel
• Türklinke
• Türschwelle
• Türsteher
• Haustür
• Hintertür
• Drehtür
• Wohnungstür

Related words

• Tor
• English door

Usage notes

Common phrases are hinter verschlossenen Türen “behind closed doors, in secret”, jemandem die Tür weisen “to show someone the door”, vor der Tür stehen “to be imminent”, and offene Türen einrennen “to force an open door”, to argue for what nobody disputes.^[12][3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 21, 457
3. ^ a b c d e f g Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
4. ^ a b c d e f g Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 935
5. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
6. ^ Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag
7. ^ a b c Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 880
8. ^ Schützeichel, Rudolf (2012), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 7th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 343
9. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
10. ^ Anderson, Robert R.; Goebel, Ulrich; Reichmann, Oskar, eds. (1989–), Frühneuhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter; FWB-online, fwb-online.de
11. ^ a b c Wahrig-Burfeind, Renate, ed., Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch, Gütersloh / München: Wissen Media Verlag; online edition at wissen.de
12. ^ a b c d Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag