Etymologically
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damals

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈdaːmaːls/[1]

Forms

damals[1]

Etymology

It is formed from da “then” and Mal “point in time”, with -s, the genitive ending turned into an adverbial suffix.[2][3][4] The pattern is the Middle High German genitive des māles (“at that time; this time”), in which the adverb took the place of the article as a reinforcement, as in daheim.[4][5] The noun is Middle High German māl, māl (“point of time, time”).[4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Grimms' revision finds it soon after 1500, first as do mals in Brennwald's Swiss chronicle (1508/16), but not in Luther; dictionaries record it from Henisch (1616).[3] The older forms damalen (mid-15th century) and damal (late 15th century) lasted into the 19th century, and dazumal, from Middle High German dō ze māle, is older still.[2][3] In the 16th century dazumal was still the commoner word.[3]

Semantic evolution

Damals has always pointed back to a time in the past, usually one already mentioned.[3][7] In the 17th century some poets, among them Opitz, also used it of the future, for “then, at that time to come”.[8] The adjective damalig was formed from damal at the beginning of the 17th century, and Goethe used das Damals as a noun in 1814.[2][9]

Timeline

  • Mid-15th century – damalen is recorded.[2]
  • 1508/16 – do mals appears in Brennwald's Swiss chronicle.[3]
  • 1610 – damalig is recorded.[10]
  • 1616 – Henisch lists the word in his dictionary.[3]
  • 1814 – Goethe uses das Damals as a noun.[9]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. At that time, then: at a certain moment or period in the past.[11][1]

Word family

Usage notes

The Grimms recorded desmals, from Middle High German des māles, as still heard in popular speech.[8] Yiddish has דעמאָלט (demolt) and דעמאָלטס (demolts).[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c d e f g 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. 6, 120
  4. ^ a b c Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 178
  5. ^ Wahrig-Burfeind, Renate, ed., Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch, Gütersloh / München: Wissen Media Verlag; online edition at wissen.de
  6. ^ Schützeichel, Rudolf (2012), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 7th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 213
  7. ^ Anderson, Robert R.; Goebel, Ulrich; Reichmann, Oskar, eds. (1989–), Frühneuhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter; FWB-online, fwb-online.de
  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. 2, 701
  9. ^ a b 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. 6, 123
  10. ^ Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
  11. ^ Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag