Etymologically
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Termin

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Pronunciation

  • /tɛʁˈmiːn/[1]

Forms

Termin m (genitive Termines or Termins, plural Termine)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German termin, borrowed from Medieval Latin terminus (“term of payment, fixed date”), the Medieval Latin use of the Classical word for “boundary stone, boundary, end”.[2][3][4][5] Kluge dates it to the 13th century, and Duden to the end of that century in High German texts.[2][4] The meaning “fixed point in time, day of payment or of a court hearing” had developed in Medieval Latin, which also used the noun for “district” and for “definition, concept”.[6][3]

The same Latin noun gave Dutch termijn, French terme and Swedish termin.[2] From its Medieval Latin sense “a clearly bounded concept” comes Terminus “technical term”, kept in the Latin form.[4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The DFWB's first records are setzen das termin (“set the date”, 1297), with the neuter gender, and na den termyne der betalinghe (“after the date of payment”, 1321).[6] Middle High German termin was a fixed or limited time, a day for payments, court summonses or deliveries.[3][7]

Semantic evolution

Early New High German also used termin for “boundary, boundary stone”, in the 16th century.[3] A rare Term(e) “boundary” is recorded from the 13th to the 15th century.[6][8] Luther wrote of a termin “appointed and set”, and in commercial language it meant the day of payment and in legal language the court day.[9] The word was masculine or neuter at first, and up to the 20th century the Latin form terminus was sometimes used for it.[6]

The verb terminieren (about 1300, from Medieval Latin terminō) meant “to limit, determine”, and since the early 20th century “to fix a date for”; from the mid-15th century it was also used of friars going about their district to collect alms.[9][4] Today the noun is also the meeting itself, an appointment.[5]

Timeline

  • 1297 – First record, setzen das termin.[6][9]
  • 1321 – termyne der betalinghe, the date of payment.[6]
  • about 1300 – The verb terminieren “to limit, determine” is recorded.[9]
  • 16th century – The sense “boundary, boundary stone” is used.[3]
  • 1674 – The adjective terminlich is recorded.[9]
  • early 20th century – terminieren takes the sense “to fix a date”.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A fixed date, or a deadline by which something must be done: Der Termin für die Abgabe der Steuererklärung ist Ende Juli.[5][1]
  2. An appointment, a scheduled meeting: Morgen um zehn habe ich einen Termin beim Zahnarzt.[5][1]
  3. (law) A date fixed by a court, especially for a hearing.[5][1][10]
  4. (sports) A scheduled match, a fixture.[1]

Word family

  • terminieren
  • terminlich
  • Arzttermin
  • Prüfungstermin
  • Termingeld
  • Terminus
  • Terminologie
  • determinieren
  • English term

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 914
  3. ^ a b c d e Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  4. ^ a b c d Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 855
  5. ^ a b c d e Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  6. ^ a b c d e f g 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
  7. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  8. ^ Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 21, 259
  9. ^ a b c d e f Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
  10. ^ Duden. Das Fremdwörterbuch (2007), 9th ed., Duden vol. 5, Mannheim: Dudenverlag