Etymologically
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beziehen

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Pronunciation

  • /bəˈt͡siːən/[1]

Forms

beziehen (class 2 strong, third-person singular present bezieht, past tense bezog, past participle bezogen, past subjunctive bezöge, auxiliary haben)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German beziehen, inherited from Old High German biziohan (“to tie up, cover over, take away”), inherited from Proto-West Germanic *biteuhan, a prefixed form of ziehen with be-.[2][3][1][4] Corresponding prefixed verbs are Middle Low German betēn, Middle Dutch betīen, Old Frisian bitā and Old English betēon,[5] and the Grimms add Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐍄𐌹𐌿𐌷𐌰𐌽 (bitiuhan).[6]

The simple verb, Old High German ziohan, Old Saxon tiohan, tēon, Gothic 𐍄𐌹𐌿𐌷𐌰𐌽 (tiuhan, “to lead”), from Proto-Germanic *teuhaną, continues Proto-Indo-European *deuk- (“to pull”), the root of Latin dūcō (“to lead”).[7][3][8] Kluge notes that of the prefixed verb's many senses the most important today goes back to “draw together, connect”.[2] Wiktionary adds that the sense “to refer” was probably influenced by referō.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German biziohan is recorded in glosses from about 765 and in Otfrid, meaning “to reach, catch up with; to take away; to bind together, cover over”.[4][3] In Otfrid (863–871) Christ bizoh the disciples, reaching them in the storm on the lake.[5] Middle High German beziehen meant “to reach, seize; to cover, line (a garment); to take possession of, move in”.[3][9]

Semantic evolution

Paul sorts the senses by the part of the verb that governs the object.[10] With an object belonging to ziehen one draws income, fees or goods; from the 17th century one also refers to (sich beziehen auf) a person or thing, whose oldest sense was probably “to appeal to”, and in the 18th century one began to relate a remark or allusion to something.[10] With an object governed by be-, the only type in Middle High German, one covers a bed with linen or strings a violin, and the sky bezieht sich, clouds over; early New High German also used it for catching fish with nets, hence “to trick”, still found in the 18th century.[10][6] From intransitive ziehen come moving into a house and taking up a post: Luther wrote in 1524 of a house that had been occupied and lived in.[10][5]

The abstract noun Beziehung (1678) means “relation”, in the plural “useful connections”, and since the 1970s often a love relationship.[10][3] Bezug “cover; purchase; reference” is recorded from the early 18th century, once in Swiss German in 1483, and beziehungsweise from the mid-18th century, replacing older beziehlicher Weise.[3][2]

Timeline

  • c. 765 – Old High German biziohan appears in glosses.[4]
  • 863–871 – Otfrid uses bizoh “caught up with”.[5]
  • 1524 – Luther writes of a house bezogen und bewohnet “moved into and lived in”.[5]
  • 17th century – sich beziehen auf “to refer to” comes into use.[10]
  • 1678 – First record of Beziehung.[10]
  • Early 18th century – Bezug becomes current.[3]
  • Mid-18th century – beziehungsweise appears.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To cover or put a cover on: das Kissen neu beziehen;[11][1] ein mit Samt bezogener Sessel “a chair upholstered in velvet”.[11][1]
  2. (reflexive, of the sky) To become overcast.[11][1]
  3. To move into (a dwelling): ein neues Haus beziehen.[11][1]
  4. (military) To take up (a position); figuratively Stellung beziehen, to take a stand.[11][1]
  5. To receive regularly, by order or as payment: eine Zeitschrift beziehen, eine Pension beziehen;[11][1] (colloquial) Prügel beziehen, to get a beating.[11][1]
  6. (reflexive) To refer to: Ich beziehe mich auf Ihren Brief vom Montag.[11][1]
  7. (reflexive) To concern, apply to: Die Regel bezieht sich nur auf Neubauten.[11]
  8. To relate in thought, connect: Sie bezog die Bemerkung auf sich.[11]
  9. (Switzerland) To collect (taxes).[11][1]

Word family

  • Beziehung
  • beziehungsweise
  • Bezug
  • bezüglich
  • Bezieher
  • bezogen

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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. 119
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  5. ^ a b c d e 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, 161
  6. ^ 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, 1799
  7. ^ Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 1009
  8. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  9. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag