Etymologically
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absolut

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Pronunciation

  • /ap.zoˈluːt/, /ap.soˈluːt/[1]
  • Also, colloquial: /-sə-/[1]

Forms

absolut (strong nominative masculine singular absoluter, comparative absoluter, superlative am absolutesten)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin absolūtus (“detached, independent, complete, unconditional”), borrowed in the late 15th century, the past participle of absolvō (“to loosen, release, acquit, complete”) (see absolvieren), from ab- (“away, off”) and solvō (“to loosen, free”).[2][3][4] The Latin verb is formed from luō with a prefix se-.[5] In politics, from the early 17th century, French absolu influenced its use.[2][5][4] The same word is Dutch absoluut, English absolute and Swedish absolut.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record, of 1481, has the Latin adverb absolute glossed “solely, without addition”.[4] The German form absolut first appears about 1530 in Paracelsus, in the sense “freed, redeemed”.[6][3]

Semantic evolution

From the end of the 16th century it meant “unrestricted, unconditional”, from the early 17th “unlimited” of political power, under French influence, and since the later 17th “completely, entirely”.[3] From the early 18th century it meant “independent, in and for itself”, in philosophy and in general use, as the opposite of relativ.[3][7] The Latin adverb absolute was used until the early 19th century.[6][4]

Technical phrases followed: absolute Höhe (height above sea level) in 1706, absolute Mehrheit in 1790, absolute Zahl in 1803, Wagner's absolute Musik in 1851, absoluter Nullpunkt in 1894 and absolutes Gehör in 1910.[3][7] Absolutismus is recorded in 1775.[7] Today the word is often a mere intensifier in colloquial speech, and it also entered the dialects.[5][1] It was borrowed as Hungarian abszolút by 1579.[8]

Timeline

  • 1481 – The Latin form absolute appears in a German text.[4]
  • c. 1530 – Paracelsus uses absolut “freed”.[6]
  • Early 17th century – The political sense “unlimited” appears.[3][4]
  • Early 18th century – absolut comes to mean “independent” as opposed to relativ.[3]
  • 1775 – First record of Absolutismus.[7]
  • 1790 – absolute Mehrheit is recorded.[3][7]
  • 1894 – absoluter Nullpunkt is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Ruling alone, sovereign, unrestricted: ein absoluter Herrscher;[9][1] die absolute Monarchie.[9][1]
  2. Unconditional, complete: ein absolutes Rauchverbot.[9]
  3. Perfect, ideal, undisturbed: das absolute Glück.[9]
  4. That cannot be surpassed: ein absoluter Rekord;[9] (physics) absoluter Nullpunkt, the lowest possible temperature.[9]
  5. Total, utter: In der Höhle herrschte absolute Dunkelheit.[9]
  6. (chiefly philosophy) Pure, considered in itself, without relation to anything: das Absolute;[9][7] absolute Musik.[9][7]
  7. Independent, needing no aid or comparison: absolutes Gehör, perfect pitch.[9][10]
  8. (science) Chemically pure: absoluter Alkohol.[9]

Adverb

  1. (intensifying) Absolutely, at all: Das ergibt absolut keinen Sinn.[9][1]

Word family

  • Absolutismus
  • Absolutheit
  • verabsolutieren
  • absolvieren
  • Absolution
  • resolut
  • English absolute

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 9
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 c d e f Schulz, Hans; Basler, Otto, et al. (1913–1988), Deutsches Fremdwörterbuch, 7 vols., Strasbourg / Berlin: Trübner / De Gruyter; 2nd ed., ed. Gerhard Strauß et al. (1995–), Berlin / New York: De Gruyter; via OWID, Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache
  5. ^ a b c Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 77
  6. ^ a b c 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, 958
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
  8. ^ Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  10. ^ Duden. Das Fremdwörterbuch (2007), 9th ed., Duden vol. 5, Mannheim: Dudenverlag