Verband

Pronunciation

• /ferˈbant/, [fɐˈbant], [fɛɐ̯-]^[1]

Forms

Verband m (genitive Verbandes or Verbands, plural Verbände)^[1] The plural, rare in older German, is now Verbände; it was formerly also Verbande without umlaut, as in Klopstock.^[2]

Etymology

It is a noun formed from the verb verbinden.^[3][1][4] Paul's first record, from 1577, is in a work on architecture by Vredeman, where it means the joining of stones into masonry.^[5] Wiktionary suggests that it was modelled on Dutch verband, Middle Dutch verbant (about 1300), since several early records are translations from Dutch; Middle Low German vorbant is found in the 15th century.^[1] The Grimms' dictionary noted that it was unknown in the older language and still missing from Stieler and Frisch.^[2]

The verb is a West Germanic prefixed form of binden, which is bintan, from Proto-Germanic *bindaną, the same word as Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽 (bindan) and English bind.^[3][6] It continues Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- (“to bind”), also in Sanskrit बध्नाति (badhnā́ti, “binds”) and Ancient Greek πεῖσμα (peîsma, “ship's cable”).^[6][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In its first record, in Vredeman's Architectura of 1577, Verband is a building term for the bonding of stones in masonry.^[5]

Semantic evolution

In the 18th century the word was used figuratively for any connection, as when Kant speaks of the Verband of all concrete concepts.^[5] From the early 18th century it also meant a bandage, from verbinden “to bind up a wound”: Steinbach records it in 1734, and Adelung and Campe know only this concrete sense.^[5][2][7]

From the 19th century it named an organized union of members into a larger unit, as in Zollverband and Reichsverband, and probably only from the early 20th century a military formation made up of smaller units.^[5][3]

Timeline

• 1577 – First record, as a building term for the bond of masonry.^[5]
• 1734 – Steinbach records the sense “bandage”.^[5][2]
• 18th century – Kant uses it figuratively for a connection of concepts.^[5]
• 19th century – First record of the sense “association, union”.^[5][3]
• Early 20th century – Used for a military formation.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A bandage or dressing for a wound or a broken bone: Die Ärztin wechselte den Verband.^[4][1]
2. An association or federation of clubs, groups or individuals pursuing common interests: Sie ist dem Verband vor zehn Jahren beigetreten.^[4][1]
3. (military) A larger formation of smaller units; a group of vehicles, ships or aircraft operating together, as in im Verband fliegen “to fly in formation”.^[4][1]
4. A group of individuals forming a whole, such as a family or a herd.^[4]
5. (building) The bond in which bricks or stones are laid in a wall; a system of braces in a framework.^[4][8]
6. (mathematics) A lattice.^[1]

Word family

• Verbandskasten
• Verbandsmitglied

Related words

• Verbund
• binden
• verbinden
• Band
• Bund
• English bind

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 25, 90
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 e f Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
6. ^ a b Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 124
7. ^ Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf
8. ^ Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org