Vorstand

Pronunciation

• [ˈfoːɐ̯ʃtant]^[1]

Forms

Vorstand m (genitive Vorstandes or Vorstands, plural Vorstände)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German vürstant (“representative, guarantor”),^[2][3] a noun formed from the verb vorstehen, with the stem of Stand.^[1][4][2] The same formation is Middle Dutch vorestant.^[3]

The stem with /n/ is Proto-Germanic *standaną (“to stand”), seen in Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽 (standan), Old Norse standa and Old English standan, the source of English stand; the nasal was at first found only in the present, as stōd (“stood”) shows.^[5] The root is Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand”), also in Latin stō (“to stand”), Ancient Greek ἵστημι (hístēmi, “to make stand”) and Lithuanian stoti (“to stand up”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Paul and the Grimms' dictionary give Middle High German vürstant in the sense “representative, guarantor”, and Pfeifer dates the sense “defender, guarantor” to the 15th century.^[2][3][5] The Zurich dictionary of Josua Maaler renders Vorstand as Latin principatus, leadership.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

In the older language the word had many abstract senses: standing before someone, especially a personal appearance before a court; then, in the language of business, security or bail, as in einen Vorstand machen “to give security”; support or furtherance; defence; and a first place or precedence.^[3][6][5] These have nearly all died out.^[3]

The personal sense grew from the idea of precedence.^[3] Adelung (1793) calls Vorstand for a person who presides old-fashioned in High German, and Campe calls it regional, but in the 19th century it became common both for a single head and for a managing committee.^[3] Pfeifer dates the sense “board, leader” to the beginning of the 19th century.^[5] The Grimms put its spread down to the rise of companies and associations.^[3]

Timeline

• 15th century – First record of the sense “defender, guarantor”.^[5]
• 16th century – Recorded for standing before another, surety and precedence.^[5][3]
• 1587 – einen vorstand machen “to give security” in a Latin dictionary.^[3]
• 1793 – Adelung calls the personal sense old-fashioned.^[6]
• early 19th century – Vorstand means a board or a leader.^[5]
• 1824 – A newspaper dictionary defines it as the chairman of a college.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. The board of a company or association, the body that manages and represents it: Der Vorstand des Tennisvereins trifft sich einmal im Monat.^[7][1]
2. A member of such a board, a director: Sie ist seit Januar Vorstand für Finanzen.^[7][1]
3. (especially Austria) The head of an office, especially a station master.^[7]

Word family

• Vorständin

Related words

• vorstehen
• Vorsteher
• Stand
• stehen

Usage notes

The Grimms note that in northern Germany Vorstand was used mostly of the committee, while in southern Germany every member of it could be called and addressed as Vorstand.^[3] The feminine is Vorständin.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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 f g h i j k l m Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 26, 1646
4. ^ Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
5. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf
7. ^ a b c Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag