Vertreter
Pronunciation
- /fɛɐ̯ˈtʁeːtɐ/[1]
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
- A deputy or substitute who stands in for someone for a time: Während des Urlaubs übernimmt eine Vertreterin die Praxis.[7][1]
- A representative who acts for a person or group: die gewählten Vertreter der Gemeinde;[7][1] die diplomatischen Vertreter are diplomats.[7][1]
- A sales representative, a travelling salesman for a firm: Er arbeitet als Vertreter für Küchengeräte.[7][3]
- An exponent of a movement or school: ein Vertreter der Romantik.[7][3]
- A supporter or advocate of an idea.[7]
- (colloquial, often pejorative) A fellow, a type: So ein seltsamer Vertreter![7][4]
Word family
- Vertreterin
- Stellvertreter
- Handelsvertreter
- Versicherungsvertreter
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
- ^ 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
- ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c d e f g Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag