Etymologically
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darstellen

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈdaːʁˌʃtɛlən/, [ˈdaːɐ̯ˌʃtɛln][1]

Forms

darstellen (third-person singular present stellt dar, past tense stellte dar, past participle dargestellt, auxiliary haben)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from German dar- + stellen, with the particle meaning “there, forth”.[2][1][3] It properly meant “to set something up (for a purpose)”, then also “to name someone for a task” and “to produce”.[4][2] The later uses, especially in the agent noun Darsteller and the abstract noun Darstellung, refer more to the artistic rendering and shaping of an event, above all in the theatre.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest quotations in DWB2 are legal and concrete: in the Styrian land law (second half of the 14th century) a defendant produces his witness, and in 1439 the Reformation of Emperor Sigismund speaks of putting up a figure of St Francis in a church.[5] Pfeifer gives the first senses as “to put someone forward for a task, nominate” and “to set something down” (14th–15th century).[2]

Semantic evolution

The concrete sense “to put something before someone, set up” lasted into the 18th century: Luther's Bible has den Leuchter darstellen “set up the lampstand” (Exodus 40:4), and Pestalozzi and Wieland still use the verb of setting down a jug or fish.[6][7] In legal language one could Zeugen darstellen “produce witnesses”, as Maaler records.[7][5] The sense “to produce, make” appears in the 16th century.[2] Since about 1800 it has been restricted to chemistry and physics, where one still prepares a substance.[2][5]

The sense that dominates today, to shape or render something in words or in art, is common from the 16th century according to Pfeifer, from the 17th according to Paul.[2][6] It was used of painters and of actors, and Klopstock's epigram Beschreibung und Darstellung (1771) set the word against mere description;[6] Wilhelm von Humboldt wrote of die darstellende Kunst in 1799.[6] Darsteller “actor” dates from the end of the 18th century, and also meant “author”; Darstellung meant “provision, handing over” from the 16th to the 18th century and “shaping, performance” from the 17th.[2][6]

Timeline

  • Second half of the 14th century – The Styrian land law uses darstellen of producing a witness.[5]
  • 1439 – The Reformation of Emperor Sigismund uses it of putting up a figure of a saint.[5]
  • 1490 – Zeugen dar stellen glosses Latin producere testes.[5]
  • 16th century – The senses “to produce” and “to render, shape” appear.[2]
  • 1771 – Klopstock's epigram Beschreibung und Darstellung.[6]
  • End of the 18th century – Darsteller “actor” is first recorded.[6]
  • 1799 – Wilhelm von Humboldt writes of die darstellende Kunst.[6]
  • About 1800 – The sense “to produce” becomes restricted to chemistry and physics.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To depict, to represent in a picture, a model or a diagram: Das Gemälde stellt einen Fischmarkt dar.;[8][1] die darstellende Geometrie, descriptive geometry.[8][1]
  2. To play a role on the stage, to portray: Er stellte den Faust dar.;[8][1] die darstellende Kunst, the performing arts;[8][1] etwas darstellen “to look impressive”, nichts darstellen “to make no impression”.[8][1]
  3. To describe, to set out in words: Sie hat den Ablauf genau dargestellt.[8][1]
  4. To constitute, to be: Der Umzug stellt für die Familie eine große Belastung dar.[8][1]
  5. (reflexive) To present oneself as something, to appear in a certain way.[8][1][3]
  6. (chemistry) To prepare a substance.[3][6]

Word family

  • Darsteller
  • Darstellung

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
  4. ^ a b Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 181
  5. ^ 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. 6, 328
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ 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, 791
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag