Etymologically
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Verkauf

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Pronunciation

  • /fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯f/[1]

Forms

Verkauf m (genitive Verkaufes or Verkaufs, plural Verkäufe)[1]

Etymology

It is a back-formation from the verb verkaufen, made in Early New High German; the older noun was Verkaufung.[2][3][4] The verb is Middle High German verkoufen, Old High German firkoufen, formed with the prefix ver- from kaufen “to buy”, which goes back to a very early borrowing of Latin caupō (“innkeeper, petty trader”) or of the Latin verb caupōnor (“to haggle, trade”).[5][4][6] The oldest noun for a sale was Old High German firkoufida.[7] Köbler records Middle High German verkouf in four charters from 1271 on, while the Grimms' dictionary found no Middle High German record.[8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German firkoufida “sale” occurs only in two glosses of the 10th or 11th century.[7] The modern noun is dated by Pfeifer to the 16th century; the Grimms quote the Frankfurt Reformation, a law book, on verkauff und kauff, and Maaler's dictionary of 1561, which gives kauff und verkauff for Latin nundinatio.[4][9]

Semantic evolution

From the start it was used in the pair Kauf und Verkauf for trade.[9] Adelung defines it as the act of transferring the ownership of a thing to another for a price, and gives the Low German form Verkoop.[10] Verkaufspreis “selling price” is recorded in 1780.[2] In merchants' language it also names the sales department of a firm.[3][11]

Timeline

  • 10th–11th century – Old High German firkoufida “sale” in glosses.[7]
  • 1271 – Middle High German verkouf in a charter.[8]
  • 16th century – The modern noun is recorded.[4]
  • 1780 – Verkaufspreis “selling price”.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. sale, the act of selling: Der Verkauf der Wohnung dauerte drei Monate.[3][1][11]
  2. (commerce) The sales department of a firm.[3][11]

Word family

  • Verkaufspreis
  • Ausverkauf

Usage notes

Zum Verkauf means “for sale”, and Verkauf auch außer Haus is a notice in cafés that food may be taken away.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c d e Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  4. ^ a b c d Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  5. ^ Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 483
  6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  7. ^ a b c Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. 3, 293
  8. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  9. ^ 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. 25, 618
  10. ^ Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf
  11. ^ a b c Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org