Etymologically
Log in

ehemalig

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 20 October 2026 at 17:29. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /ˈeːəˌmaːlɪç/, /ˈeːəˌmaːlɪk/[1]

Forms

ehemalig (strong nominative masculine singular ehemaliger, not comparable)[1]

Etymology

It is from German ehemals + -ig, an adjective from the adverb “formerly”;[1][2] the Grimms' revised dictionary derives it from the variant ehemal.[3] The adverb is Middle High German ēmāles, a phrase of the preposition ē (“before”) with the genitive of māl (“point in time”), the noun that is now Mal.[4][1][3] It served as the model for jemals and niemals.[4]

The preposition is the word that is now ehe, a shortened form of eher.[5][6] The noun goes back to the Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *mē- (“to measure”) and is related to Gothic 𐌼𐌴𐌻 (mēl, “time”).[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Grimms' revised dictionary first records the adjective in 1670, in Zesen's Assenat: itzund gedenke ich an mein ehmahliges verbrechen “now I recall my former crime”.[3] The adverb ehemals itself goes back to Middle High German, where Gottfried von Strassburg wrote e males around 1210.[3]

Semantic evolution

The adjective is used only attributively, and its records grow much more frequent from the 18th century.[3] Wieland used it often, as in die ehemaligen misvergnügten “the former malcontents”.[8] With words for time it meant “of old, bygone”, as in ehemahliger zeit (1696) and in ehemaligen uralten zeiten (1796).[3] An uninflected form occurs before place names in phrases of ownership, such as der ehmalig kloppheimer gemarkung (1786).[3]

As a noun, Ehemalige are former pupils of a school, and in slang ihr Ehemaliger or seine Ehemalige is a former husband or boyfriend, wife or girlfriend.[9]

Timeline

  • 1670 – First record, in Zesen's Assenat.[3]
  • 1696 – Ehemahliger zeit “in former times” is recorded.[3]
  • 18th century – Records of the adjective become much more frequent.[3]
  • 1786 – An uninflected ehmalig is recorded before a place name.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. former, erstwhile, onetime (only before a noun): der ehemalige Bürgermeister;[9][1] unsere ehemalige Schule.[9][1]
  2. As a noun, Ehemalige: former pupils of a school;[9] (slang) ihr Ehemaliger, seine Ehemalige: her former husband or boyfriend, his former wife or girlfriend.[9]
  • ehemals
  • ehedem
  • einstig

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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. 7, 137
  4. ^ a b Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  5. ^ Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 223
  6. ^ Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 228
  7. ^ Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 595
  8. ^ Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 3, 45
  9. ^ a b c d e Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag