Etymologically
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also

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈʔalzoː/[1]

Forms

also (adverb, conjunction and particle)[1] The spelling allso, which shows the link with all, occurs now and then from the 17th to the 19th century.[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German alsō, from Old High German al (“entirely”) + sō (“so”), so that it first meant “entirely so, just so”.[3][4][5] It continues Proto-West Germanic *allswā.[1] The same formation is Middle Low German alsō, Middle Dutch also, Old English eallswā, the source of English also, and Old Frisian alsa.[4][2][1]

In Old and Middle High German the stress was originally on the second syllable, but it could move to the first, as the weakened forms alse and als show; these became the conjunction als.[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Kluge dates Old High German alsō to the 8th century,[3] Pfeifer and Köbler to the 9th, when it appears in glosses.[4][6] It is used in the Hildebrandslied, Notker and Williram, meaning “so, likewise, just as” and “as if”.[7][6]

Semantic evolution

From the 13th century also was also used as a conjunction.[3] The adverb “in this way” is attested in Early New High German from 1335;[8] Adelung remarked that good writers no longer liked to use it except for the rhythm of the sentence, and today it is archaic, as in der also Befragte.[8] Nietzsche's title Also sprach Zarathustra uses it in this old sense.[8]

The main modern use, drawing a conclusion (“therefore, so”), was already described by Adelung; from it came “that is, namely” and the use as a discourse particle, as in na also!.[8][9][10] Hebrew borrowed the word as alzo “accordingly”.[11]

Timeline

  • 8th–9th century – Old High German alsō is recorded.[3][4]
  • 13th century – also is used as a conjunction.[3]
  • 1335 – The adverb “in this way” is recorded in Early New High German.[8]
  • 17th–19th century – The spelling allso occurs.[2]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. therefore, consequently: es regnet, also bleiben wir zu Hause.[10][1]
  2. That is, in other words, summing up what came before: Haustiere, also Hunde, Katzen und Pferde.[10][1]
  3. Resumes an interrupted train of thought: also, wo war ich?[10][1]
  4. (dated) Thus, in this way.[10][1]

Particle

  1. Adds emphasis to a statement, question or request: also gut, na also![10][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d 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. 2, 557
  3. ^ a b c d e Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 35
  4. ^ a b c d Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  5. ^ a b Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 90
  6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  7. ^ Schützeichel, Rudolf (2012), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 7th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 33
  8. ^ a b c d e Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
  9. ^ Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf
  10. ^ a b c d e f Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  11. ^ Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de