Vertreter

Forms

Vertreter m (genitive Vertreters, plural Vertreter, feminine Vertreterin)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German vertreter (“protector, advocate”), recorded in late Middle High German,^[2][3] formed from German vertreten + -er.^[1] The verb is Old High German firtretan (“to trample, oppose”) (8th century), Middle High German vertreten, formed with ver- from treten.^[2][4]

That verb is Old High German tretan, Proto-West Germanic *tredan, the same verb as Middle Low German trēden, Old Frisian treda and Old English tredan, English tread.^[2][5] Pfeifer explains it as an ablaut formation beside Gothic 𐍄𐍂𐌿𐌳𐌰𐌽 (trudan) and Old Norse troða,^[2] and Wiktionary derives the West Germanic verb from Proto-Germanic *trudaną.^[1] Its further source may be Proto-Indo-European *dreu- (“to run, tread”), an extension of the root of Treppe and trampeln.^[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Grimms cite vertretter “protector” from a source of 1390: the lord is to be gewern, vertretter und auch verantwurtter, warrantor, protector and defender, in law;^[6] Lexer has it from 1441.^[6] Glossaries of the period also have vertretter for Latin supplantator, one who trips up or tramples, from the older sense of the verb.^[6]

Semantic evolution

In Early New High German the word meant a protector, intercessor or advocate;^[6] Sebastian Franck calls Christ unser versöner, vertretter, gnadenstul und mitler.^[6] Maaler's dictionary gives it as one who takes another's place, Latin succedaneus.^[6] Klopstock speaks of vertreter des volkes, and the word became a term of law for one who acts with authority for another.^[4] Since the 19th century, when vertreten took on the sense “to represent, stand for”, a Vertreter is also the exponent of a doctrine or school.^[4]

The commercial sense, an agent of a firm, is recorded in Muret and Sanders' dictionary of 1905.^[4] Colloquial ein übler Vertreter “a nasty piece of work” seems to come from Berlin.^[4]

Timeline

• 1390 – vertretter “protector” in a legal source.^[6]
• 1441 – Lexer records vertreter.^[6]
• 19th century – vertreten takes on the sense “to represent”.^[4]
• 1905 – First record of the sense “commercial agent”.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A deputy or substitute who stands in for someone for a time: Während des Urlaubs übernimmt eine Vertreterin die Praxis.^[7][1]
2. A representative who acts for a person or group: die gewählten Vertreter der Gemeinde;^[7][1] die diplomatischen Vertreter are diplomats.^[7][1]
3. A sales representative, a travelling salesman for a firm: Er arbeitet als Vertreter für Küchengeräte.^[7][3]
4. An exponent of a movement or school: ein Vertreter der Romantik.^[7][3]
5. A supporter or advocate of an idea.^[7]
6. (colloquial, often pejorative) A fellow, a type: So ein seltsamer Vertreter!^[7][4]

Word family

• Vertreterin
• Stellvertreter
• Handelsvertreter
• Versicherungsvertreter

Related words

• vertreten
• Vertretung
• treten

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
5. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 25, 1993
7. ^ a b c d e f g Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag