besuchen
Pronunciation
- /bəˈzuːxn̩/, /bəˈzuːxən/[1]
Forms
besuchen (third-person singular present besucht, past tense besuchte, past participle besucht, auxiliary haben)[1]
Etymology
It is inherited from Middle High German besuochen, inherited from Old High German bisuohhen (“to examine, try, inquire”), inherited from Proto-West Germanic *bisōkijan, formed from German be- + suchen.[2][1][3] The same formation is Dutch bezoeken (“to visit”), Swedish besöka (“to visit”) and English beseech.[1]
The verb suchen is Middle High German suochen, Old High German suohhen, Proto-Germanic *sōkijaną (“to seek”), also in Gothic 𐍃𐍉𐌺𐌾𐌰𐌽 (sōkjan), Old Norse sœkja and Old English sēcan.[4][5] Outside Germanic it is compared with Latin sāgiō (“to perceive keenly”), Old Irish saigid (“seeks”), Ancient Greek ἡγέομαι (hēgéomai, “I lead”) and Hittite šakk- (“to know”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *seh₂g- (“to seek out”);[4][6][5] Kluge and the Duden dictionary think it first described a hound picking up a scent.[4][6][5]
Earliest recorded meaning
Old High German bisuohhen is first recorded in Notker, about 1000, and in Williram, meaning to examine, test, inquire, try, afflict and seek out.[3][7] The Duden dictionary notes that it was first a strengthened suchen, used especially in legal language for “to investigate”.[6]
Semantic evolution
Already in Middle High German the verb was used in the present sense “to go to a place or a person”, with several specialisations, such as einen turnei besuochen “to attend a tournament”.[6][8][2] After the Middle High German period it narrowed to visiting relatives and friends;[2] Kluge dates this meaning to the 17th century.[2] Until the 18th century it could still mean “to search, examine”, as in Luther's du prüfest mein Herz und besuchest es des Nachts.[8]
The noun Besuch was formed back from the older Besuchung in the 18th century and was used for French visite.[6][8] Today one also visits a museum, a town or a concert, and a sales representative visits customers.[8][9]
Timeline
- c. 1000 – Notker uses Old High German bisuohhen “to examine”.[3]
- Middle High German – besuochen is also used for going to a place or a person.[6]
- 17th century – The modern sense “to visit friends or relatives” becomes established.[2]
- 18th century – The noun Besuch replaces Besuchung and renders French visite.[6][8]
Meanings
Verb
- To visit someone and spend some time with them: Am Sonntag besuchen wir die Großeltern.[9][1]
- To call on someone for professional reasons: Die Ärztin besucht ihre Patienten zu Hause.[9]
- To go to a place for a purpose: ein Museum besuchen.[9][1]
- To attend an event as a spectator or listener: Das Konzert war gut besucht.[9][1]
- To attend a school or other place of education: Sie besucht das Gymnasium.[9][1]
Word family
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 115
- ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
- ^ a b c Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 897
- ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
- ^ a b c d e f g Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 839
- ^ Schützeichel, Rudolf (2012), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 7th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 322
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c d e f Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag