Etymologically
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aber

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈaːbɐ/, /ˈabɐ/[1]

Forms

aber (conjunction, adverb, particle)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German aber, inherited from Old High German avur, inherited from Proto-Germanic *aferą (“behind, later”).[2][3][1] The Old High German forms in ⟨-ar⟩, such as afar, and those in ⟨-ur⟩, such as abur, are not simple variants but continue different reconstructed forms.[4][2] To the first belong Gothic 𐌰𐍆𐌰𐍂 (afar, “after”), Old Saxon aƀaro (“descendant”) and Middle Low German āver, to the second Old English eafora (“descendant”) and the prefix Old Norse aur- (“lower, rear”).[4][3] The /b/ of the German forms is probably due to weak stress.[2]

Like Sanskrit अपर (apara, “later, rear”) and Avestan apara- (“rear, later”), it is an old comparative formation from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó (“off, away”), the source of ab, so its first meaning was “farther away, later”.[5][3][6][1] Kluge points out that these comparatives look formally like forms of *epi (“on, at”), but in meaning belong with the root meaning “off, away”; following Dunkel he gives the meaning priority, and allows for forms of both mixing in Germanic.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German avur, afar is recorded from the 8th century, already both as an adverb “again, once more” and as a conjunction “but, however”.[3][2] It is used in the Benedictine Rule, Isidor, the Muspilli, the Ludwigslied and other texts.[7]

Semantic evolution

From “farther away, later” German developed the sense “again, once more”, and the use for a contrast grew out of this use for repetition.[3][6] Both were present in Old High German, but the conjunction became fully established only in late Old High German.[3] Luther still used the adverb often, as in und aber über ein kleines “and again a little while” (John 16:16).[8][9] From the 16th century wieder gradually replaced it, and by the 18th century it was rare and old-fashioned; it survives in aber und abermals “again and again”, abertausend and abermals.[3][9]

As a prefix aber- marks a false counterpart, as in Aberglaube “superstition” and Aberwitz “folly”.[3][6] Pfeifer derives this from the sense of repetition, while Kluge sees a development from “behind” to “worse”, as in the compound form of After.[3][2] The noun Aber “objection, snag” is recorded from the 16th century.[3][10]

Timeline

  • 8th century – Old High German avur, afar is first recorded.[3][2]
  • Late Middle High German – abergloube “superstition” appears, common from the late 15th century.[3]
  • Second half of the 15th century – abermals is contracted from aber eines males.[3]
  • 16th century – wieder begins to replace the adverb aber “again”, and the noun Aber “objection” appears.[3]
  • 1541 – Sebastian Franck: es ist kein mensch on ein aber (“there is no one without a but”).[10]
  • 18th century – The adverb aber “again” is rare and archaic.[9]

Meanings

Conjunction

  1. but, however: marks a contrast.[11][1]
  2. But, though: adds a restriction or reservation (arm, aber nicht unglücklich).[11]
  3. But: introduces an objection or reply.[11]

Particle

  1. Adds emphasis (aber ja, aber gern).[11][12]
  2. Expresses the speaker's feelings or surprise (du spielst aber gut!).[11][1]

Adverb

  1. (dated) Again, once more, now only in fixed phrases (aber und abermals).[11][1]

Word family

  • abermals
  • abertausend
  • Aber
  • Aberglaube
  • abergläubisch
  • Aberwitz
  • ab
  • After
  • Ebbe
  • Ufer

Usage notes

Ohne Wenn und Aber means “without any ifs and buts”, and die Sache hat ihr Aber “the matter has its snag”.[11] Aber, aber! is a mild reproach, “now, now!”.[11][1] A regional adjective aber, usually aper, “free of snow, sunny”, has a different origin: it continues Old High German ābar.[13][14]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 4
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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 Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. 1, 401
  5. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b c Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag
  7. ^ Schützeichel, Rudolf (2012), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 7th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 29
  8. ^ Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 1, 29
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ a b Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob Grimm und Wilhelm Grimm, Neubearbeitung (1965–2018), ed. Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften and Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, 9 vols. (A–F), Leipzig / Stuttgart: Hirzel, p. 1, 175
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  12. ^ Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
  13. ^ Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 1, 31
  14. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling