bestehen

Forms

bestehen (irregular strong, third-person singular present besteht, past tense bestand, past participle bestanden, past subjunctive bestände or bestünde, auxiliary haben)^[1] The perfect was formerly also formed with sein, in literature and still in dialect, as in Goethe's dieses Mädchen ist sehr wohl bestanden.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German bestān, inherited from Old High German bistān, formed from Old High German bi- + stān, the Old High German form of stehen.^[1][3][4] Wiktionary sets up Proto-Germanic *bistāną.^[1] The Middle High German variant bestēn has the vowel of stēn, which arose beside stān probably under the influence of gēn beside gān (“to go”).^[5][1]

The root is Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand”) (in Pfeifer *stā-), also in Latin stō (“to stand”), Ancient Greek ἵστημι (hístēmi, “to set up”), Sanskrit तिष्ठति (tíṣṭhati, “stands”) and Lithuanian stóti (“to stand up”).^[5][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German bistān is recorded in Notker (about 1000) and the glosses, meaning “to remain, persist, exist”.^[4] Middle High German bestān is common from the 11th century, meaning “to hold out, withstand, remain, persist”, and also “to assist” and “to attack”.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Early New High German still used it for “to come to a stop”, as when Luther writes that a flow of blood ceased.^[2] From “to stay standing” came “to hold one's ground, resist”, as in Luther's kein Tier konnte vor ihm bestehen, which led to in einer Prüfung bestehen “to pass an examination”.^[2] Adelung records around 1800 that liquids were said to bestehen when they set, as water when it freezes.^[7]

Auf etwas bestehen “to insist” took the dative, but also the accusative, as both occur in Goethe; the perfect long varied between sein and haben.^[2] The sense later faded to “to exist”, as in die bestehenden Gesetze and the noun hundertjähriges Bestehen;^[2] bestehen aus “to consist of” may imitate Latin constare ex.^[2] Bestand is recorded from the 15th century, and beständig goes back to Middle High German bestendec.^[3] In Switzerland the participle bestanden means “mature, proven”.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1000 – Old High German bistān is used by Notker.^[4]
• 1060–1080 – Middle High German bestān appears in the Genesis.^[6]
• 15th century – The noun Bestand is recorded.^[3]
• 16th century – Luther uses it for “to come to a stop” and “to hold one's ground”.^[2]
• c. 1800 – Adelung records the sense “to set, congeal”.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To exist, to be there: zwischen den Ländern besteht ein Abkommen.^[8][1]
2. To last, to endure: gegen die großen Ketten kann die Bäckerei kaum bestehen.^[8]
3. (with aus) To consist of: der Tisch besteht aus Eichenholz.^[8][1]
4. (with in) To consist in, to have as its essence: ihre Aufgabe besteht im Sortieren.^[8]
5. (transitive) To pass an examination: die Fahrprüfung bestehen.^[8][1]
6. (formal, dated) To come through, endure: eine Gefahr bestehen.^[8]
7. (with auf) To insist on: er bestand auf einer Antwort.^[1][2]

Word family

• Bestehen
• Bestand
• beständig
• Beständigkeit
• unbeständig
• fortbestehen

Related words

• stehen
• English stand

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
3. ^ a b c Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 818
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
5. ^ a b Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
7. ^ a b Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf, p. 1, 928
8. ^ a b c d e f Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag