berichten

Forms

berichten (third-person singular present berichtet, past tense berichtete, past participle berichtet, auxiliary haben)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German berihten, inherited from Old High German birihten (“to make right, improve”), formed from richten with the prefix be-.^[2][3][4] It first meant “to make right, correct”, then more generally “to put in order”; used figuratively it meant “to instruct, teach”, and this in turn weakened to “to inform, relate”.^[2][5][4] The same formation is Dutch berichten.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German birihten is recorded in Notker around 1000, meaning “to make straight, put in order, improve”, and reflexively “to come onto the right path”.^[6][3] Middle High German berihten appears from the Annolied (1077–1081) on, with senses ranging from “to settle, arrange, govern” to “to instruct” and “to relate”.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The sense “to put right, correct” lasted into the 18th century and was then taken over by berichtigen.^[3][8] The sense “to instruct someone (in something)” was also common until the 18th century: Luther speaks of comforting and instructing troubled consciences, and Schiller writes that the helmsmen sind des Fahrens nicht wohl berichtet, “are poorly instructed in sailing”.^[9][8] Regionally it meant “to give the last sacraments”, and in falconry “to train a hawk”.^[8][10]

Its present sense, “to give an account of what has happened”, took a genitive or accusative of the person until the 19th century, and then the dative.^[8] The noun Bericht, Middle High German beriht, first meant “instruction, agreement, reconciliation”;^[3] Berichterstatter “reporter” dates from the early 19th century.^[3] Swedish berätta “to tell” is counted among the German loanwords in Swedish.^[11]

Timeline

• c. 1000 – Old High German birihten is used by Notker.^[6]
• 1077–1081 – Middle High German berihten appears in the Annolied.^[7]
• 16th century – Luther uses it for “to instruct, comfort” (consciences).^[9]
• 18th century – The sense “to correct” passes to berichtigen.^[3][8]
• Early 19th century – Berichterstatter “reporter” appears.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To relate, give a factual account of something: Sie berichtete uns von ihrer Reise.^[12][1]
2. To report (on), especially in the media or to a superior: Die Zeitung berichtete ausführlich über den Prozess.^[1][13]
3. (dated) To inform someone; now mainly in falsch berichtet sein “to be misinformed”.^[12][8]

Word family

• Bericht
• berichtigen
• Berichterstatter
• Berichterstattung

Related words

• richten
• recht
• unterrichten

References

1. ^ a b c d 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. 111
3. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 141
5. ^ Wahrig-Burfeind, Renate, ed., Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch, Gütersloh / München: Wissen Media Verlag; online edition at wissen.de
6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
7. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
8. ^ a b c d e f Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
9. ^ a b Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 1, 1521
10. ^ Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf
11. ^ Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de
12. ^ a b Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
13. ^ Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org