Treffen

Forms

Treffen n (genitive Treffens, plural Treffen)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German treffen (“hostile encounter, decisive blow, battle”), the infinitive of the Middle High German verb “to meet the enemy” used as a noun.^[2][3] Kluge dates this substantivised infinitive to the 15th century, in the sense “battle”.^[4]

The verb treffen is Old High German treffan, from Proto-Germanic *drepaną (“to hit, strike”), also found in Old Saxon drepan, Old English drepan (“to strike, kill”) and Old Norse drepa (“to strike, kill”).^[4][2][1] Kluge finds no usable comparison outside Germanic, and Pfeifer no certain one.^[4][2] Duden and the Grimms' dictionary connect it with Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌳𐍂𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽 (gadraban, “to hew out”) and perhaps with Russian дробить (drobitʹ, “to break into pieces”) and its relatives.^[3][5] According to Wiktionary, Kroonen explains the Germanic verb as a back-formation from an iterative of *drabaną (“to hew”), from a root Proto-Indo-European *dʰrebʰ- (“to grind, crush”) known otherwise only from Lithuanian drė̃bti (“to strike”) and Proto-Slavic *drobìti (“to crush”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Middle High German treffen, used as a noun, meant a hostile encounter, a decisive blow or a fight.^[2] Early New High German used it for a joust, a duel, a scuffle, a skirmish or a battle between two armies.^[6] A Low German glossary of 1623 renders Latin conflictus with das treffend.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The military sense was at its height in the 17th century and was still common in the 19th, but it has since left the language of the army.^[7] In the 18th century Treffen also named a line of troops in battle order.^[2][8] The phrase etwas ins Treffen führen “to bring something into the battle”, that is to put it forward as an argument, keeps the old sense.^[2][3][9] The sense “meeting, gathering” arose in the first half of the 20th century, and the short form Treff for a meeting or meeting place in the middle of that century.^[2][3] Swedish formed drabbning after the German noun in the 17th century and also borrowed träffning.^[7]

Timeline

• 15th century – Treffen is first recorded in the sense “battle, engagement”.^[4][2][3]
• 1623 – A Low German glossary renders conflictus with treffend.^[7]
• 17th century – The military sense is at its most frequent.^[7]
• 18th century – The word names a line of troops in battle order.^[2]
• First half of the 20th century – The sense “meeting” appears.^[2][3]
• Mid-20th century – The short form Treff is formed.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A planned meeting, private or official: Das nächste Treffen der Arbeitsgruppe findet am Montag statt.^[9][1]
2. (sports) A match or contest.^[9][8]
3. (military, dated) A smaller engagement or skirmish.^[9][1]

Related words

• treffen
• Treffer
• Treff
• Treffpunkt

Usage notes

Etwas ins Treffen führen (elevated) is to put something forward as an argument for or against a thing.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag
4. ^ a b c d Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 927
5. ^ Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 21, 1586
6. ^ Anderson, Robert R.; Goebel, Ulrich; Reichmann, Oskar, eds. (1989–), Frühneuhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter; FWB-online, fwb-online.de
7. ^ 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. 21, 1654
8. ^ a b Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
9. ^ a b c d e Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag