beschließen

Forms

beschließen (class 2 strong, third-person singular present beschließt, past tense beschloss, past participle beschlossen, past subjunctive beschlösse, auxiliary haben)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German besliezen, inherited from Old High German bisliozan (“to shut, enclose, conclude”), inherited from Proto-West Germanic *bisleutan, made of the prefix be- and schließen.^[2][3][1] The same compound is Dutch besluiten.^[1]

The simple verb, Old High German sliozan, is limited to German, Dutch and Frisian (Middle Low German slūten, Old Frisian slūta).^[4][5] Kluge compares the s-less Latin claudō (“to shut”), which goes with clāvis (“key, bolt”), Ancient Greek κλείς (kleís, “bolt, hook, key”) and Old Irish cló (“nail”), so that to shut was to put a bolt across.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German bisliozan appears in glosses at the end of the 8th century (Pfeifer: 9th century), and then in the Tatian and Notker, meaning to shut, lock up, enclose, keep under lock, bring to an end and infer.^[2][3][6]

Semantic evolution

The original sense “to lock” is now obsolete: Paul finds eine Tür beschließen until the 17th century, and only in some regions, as in Switzerland, later.^[2][7] It survives in the dated Beschließerin, a housekeeper or stewardess.^[2][7] Luther also used it for “to enclose”, of a city surrounded by a wall.^[7]

Already in Middle High German it meant “to end” and “to come to a conclusion, decide”, literally to come to the close of one's thinking.^[2][3][8] Luther writes of a man who beschleusst solches in seinem hertzen (“decides this in his heart”, 1 Corinthians 7:37).^[7] From the 18th century it is common for decisions taken by a vote, as Möser's beschloszene reichsverfassung.^[7] The noun Beschluss, late Middle High German “closure, end”, has meant “decision” since the 15th century.^[8][3]

Timeline

• Late 8th century – Old High German bisliozan appears in glosses.^[6][2]
• 15th century – Beschluss takes on the sense “decision”.^[8]
• 17th century – The sense “to lock (a door)” goes out of general use.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To decide or resolve, usually after reflection: sie beschloss, nach Kanada auszuwandern.^[9][1]
2. Of a body, to decide by majority vote, to pass: der Stadtrat beschließt den Haushalt.^[9]
3. (with über) To vote on something.^[9]
4. To conclude or end: den Abend mit einem Konzert beschließen;^[9][7] sein Leben beschließen, to die.^[9][7]
5. (archaic) To enclose or confine; to close up.^[1][7]

Word family

• Beschluss
• Beschließer
• Beschließerin

Related words

• schließen
• entschließen
• Schluss
• Schloss

Usage notes

Eine beschlossene Sache is something already settled, which will be carried out.^[9][7]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 113
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 811
5. ^ Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 742
6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
8. ^ a b c Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2014), 5th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin / Mannheim / Zürich: Dudenverlag, p. 164
9. ^ a b c d e f Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag