Etymologically
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berichten

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Pronunciation

  • /bəˈʁɪçtən/, [bəˈʁɪçtn̩][1]

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

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