Etymologically
Log in

betroffen

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 20 October 2026 at 20:19. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /bəˈtʁɔfən/, [bəˈtʁɔfɱ̩][1]

Forms

betroffen (strong nominative masculine singular betroffener, not comparable)[1]

Etymology

It is the past participle of betreffen, used as an adjective.[2][3][4] That verb is formed from be- and treffen.[5][6] The simple verb is Middle High German treffen, Old High German treffan, Old Saxon drepan, from Proto-Germanic *drepaną (“to strike”), the same verb as Old Norse drepa (“to strike, kill”) and Old English drepan (“to strike, slay”).[5][6] Kluge and Pfeifer find no certain cognates outside Germanic;[5][6] the Duden compares Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌳𐍂𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽 (gadraban, “to hew out”) and perhaps the Slavic group of Russian дробить (drobitʹ, “to break into pieces”).[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The revised Grimms' dictionary has the participle in 1572, in a psalm translation by Paul Schede: bin jůng gewest, vom alter itz betroffen (I was young, now overtaken by age).[2] The verb betreffen is early New High German; it meant “to catch someone in the act” until the 19th century, and also “to befall someone” of misfortune.[4]

Semantic evolution

The sense “dismayed, taken aback” dates from the 18th century and grew out of betreffen “to befall”: an emotion could be the subject of the verb, as in a translation of Gil Blas of 1736, die Befremdung, so ihn mit einmal betraf (the astonishment that suddenly struck him).[4][6][7] A letter of 1775 in Lessing's correspondence speaks of a man who was betroffen on hearing that the guests had left, and Wieland, Goethe and Klinger used it of people stunned with fear or joy.[2][8]

Beside it the neutral sense “concerned, affected” followed betreffen “to concern”: Goethe wrote of das betroffene Individuum, and today die Betroffenen are the people affected by a decision or a disaster.[4][8] The abstract noun Betroffenheit, frequent in Gottfried Keller, is today a vogue word for emotional concern.[4]

Timeline

  • 1572 – Paul Schede uses betroffen “overtaken” in a psalm.[2]
  • 16th century – The verb betreffen “to catch in the act” is recorded.[6][4]
  • 1736 – betreffen with an emotion as subject, the source of “dismayed”.[4]
  • 18th century – betroffen “dismayed, taken aback”.[6][7]
  • 1775 – er war betroffen in a letter in Lessing's correspondence.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Dismayed, taken aback, moved by something sad or unpleasant: Nach der Nachricht schwiegen alle betroffen.[3][1]
  2. Affected, concerned: die betroffenen Gemeinden; as a noun, die Betroffenen, the people affected.[1][2][4]

Word family

  • Betroffenheit

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob Grimm und Wilhelm Grimm, Neubearbeitung (1965–2018), ed. Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften and Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, 9 vols. (A–F), Leipzig / Stuttgart: Hirzel, p. 5, 6
  3. ^ a b Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
  5. ^ a b c Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 927
  6. ^ a b c d e f Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  7. ^ a b c Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 870
  8. ^ 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, 1718