dazu

Forms

dazu (pronominal adverb; stressed on the second syllable, or on the first for emphasis)^[2][1] Darzu was the usual form up to the 15th century;^[3] dazu gained ground from the 16th century, outnumbered darzu in the 18th and has been the only form since the 19th.^[3] Older dictionaries disagreed: Maaler, Stieler and Steinbach have darzu, while Frisch decided for dazu.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German dārzuo, inherited from Old High German darazuo, a compound of the adverb dara (“thither”) and zuo (“to”).^[3][5] Otfrid's spelling tharzua suggests that it was already linked with dār (“there”), and in early Middle High German it was generally taken as da and zu.^[3] The same formation is Old Saxon thar tō, Old English þærtō, Old Frisian thertō and Dutch daartoe, and in English thereto.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is first recorded in Otfrid's Gospel book (863–871), where it is used of moving towards a place.^[3][5] Old High German darazuo meant “to it, thither” and also “in addition, besides” and “for that”.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The sense “in addition” was already used to join clauses in Old High German, as in modern dumm und faul dazu “stupid and lazy too”.^[6] Compounds with verbs such as dazukommen and dazutun appear in Early New High German, dazugehörig in late Middle High German, and the noun Dazutun “help, contribution” in 1822.^[6]

Timeline

• 863–871 – Otfrid uses Old High German tharzua.^[3]
• 12th century – Forms without /r/ (dazuo) make up about a fifth of the records.^[3]
• Late Middle High German – dazugehörig is formed.^[6]
• 18th century – dazu outnumbers darzu.^[3]
• 1822 – The noun Dazutun is recorded.^[6]

Meanings

Adverb

1. To this, in addition to it: Zum Fisch gibt es Reis dazu.^[2][1]
2. Moreover, besides: Sie ist klug und dazu noch fleißig.^[2][1]
3. About this, regarding it: Dazu möchte ich nichts sagen.^[2]
4. For this purpose: Dazu fehlt uns das Geld.^[2][1]

Word family

• dazugehören
• dazukommen
• dazulernen
• dazutun

Related words

• da
• zu

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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, 443
4. ^ Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 2, 871
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
6. ^ a b c d Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer