Etymologically

Veröffentlichung

Etymology and origin of the German word Veröffentlichung

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
19th century
Ultimate origins
German (ver-,-en,-ung)Middle High German (offenlich)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
German öffentlich
German Veröffentlichung

Forms

Veröffentlichung f (genitive Veröffentlichung, plural Veröffentlichungen)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from German veröffentlichen + -ung.[1][2] The verb veröffentlichen was made in the 19th century from ver- and öffentlich, as a German replacement for publizieren, and the noun replaced Publikation in the same way.[3][4][5] The adjective is inherited from Middle High German offenlich, inherited from Old High German offanlīh, from offen.[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Pfeifer dates the noun, like the verb, to the 19th century.[5][2] The verb was still missing from Campe (1811), Heinsius (1822) and Kaltschmidt (1834); the Grimms' dictionary's first record is from 1840, and Sanders entered both the verb and the noun in 1865.[6][3]

Semantic evolution

The noun names both the act of making something public, an official announcement or the publishing of a text, and the published work itself.[5][7] The Duden dictionary gives Publikation as its synonym in both senses.[7] Wiktionary also gives the sense “release”.[1]

Timeline

  • 1840 – First record of the verb veröffentlichen in the Grimms' dictionary.[6]
  • 19th century – Veröffentlichung “public announcement, publication”.[5]
  • 1865 – Sanders records the verb and the noun.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. publication, the act of making something public or publishing it: Die Veröffentlichung der Wahlergebnisse verzögerte sich.[7][1]
  2. A published work, a publication: Ihre jüngste Veröffentlichung ist ein Buch über Moose.[7][2]
  3. A release of a record, film or software.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
  3. ^ a b c 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 Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 666
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ a b Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 25, 951
  7. ^ a b c d Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag

Related etymologies

  • dass · also from Old High German
  • nach · also from Old High German
  • können · also from Old High German
  • dieser · also from Old High German
  • bei · also from Old High German
  • als · also from Old High German
  • auch · also from Old High German
  • er · also from Old High German
Cite this entry

“Veröffentlichung.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/de/Ver%C3%B6ffentlichung. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·