Etymologically
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einfach

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈʔaɪ̯nfax/[1]

Forms

einfach (strong nominative masculine singular einfacher, comparative einfacher, superlative am einfachsten)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from German ein + -fach.[2][3][1] Pfeifer, Paul and the Grimms' dictionary explain it as made on the model of older adjectives such as Middle High German zwivach (“twofold”), viervach (“fourfold”) and manecvach (“manifold”).[3][4][5] The suffix -fach goes back to the noun Fach, which first meant “fold”.[6][7] The counterpart in English is onefold.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Paul and the revised Grimms' dictionary date the word to about 1400;[4][8] DWB2's first quotation (Würzburg, 1400–1411) sets a price for a long coat that is einfach, not sewn from two layers, against one that is zwifach.[4][8] Kluge and Pfeifer date it to the early 15th century, while Köbler lists a Middle High German einvach “simple” in Ottokar's rhymed chronicle (1301–1319).[2][3][9]

Semantic evolution

At first the word meant “single, done once”, as against double or manifold; from the 16th century it replaced the older einfältig in this sense, as that word took on the meaning “simple-minded”.[3][5][4] Already in the 16th century it also meant “plain, modest, unpretentious”, and later “easy to understand, easy to do”.[3][7] Adelung records einfach “not compound” of numbers and words, and medical texts used it for simple remedies, Latin simplicia.[4][8]

In modern German the adverb weakened to a particle that strengthens a statement, “just, simply”.[3][10] The abstract noun Einfachheit appears in the early 18th century, and Goethe used vereinfachen in 1775.[3] In Polish dialects of Silesia and Teschen the word was borrowed as ajnfach “uncomplicated”.[11]

Timeline

  • 1301–1319 – Köbler lists einvach in Ottokar's rhymed chronicle.[9]
  • c. 1400 – einfach “single, not double” is recorded in Würzburg.[8][4]
  • 16th century – It replaces einfältig in the sense “single” and also means “plain, modest”.[3]
  • 1536 – Dasypodius uses it to translate Latin simplex.[4]
  • Early 18th century – Einfachheit appears.[3]
  • 1775 – Goethe uses vereinfachen.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. single, done or made only once;[10][1] (of a ticket) one-way: eine einfache Fahrt.[10][1]
  2. Easy, uncomplicated: eine einfache Frage.[10][1]
  3. Plain, clear, obvious: eine einfache Erklärung.[10]
  4. modest, unpretentious: ein einfaches Leben.[10][1]

Adverb

  1. Simply, just, used to strengthen a statement: das ist einfach falsch.[10][1]
  2. Easily, without difficulty.[1]

Word family

  • Einfachheit
  • vereinfachen
  • Vereinfachung
  • ein
  • Fach
  • einfältig

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 234
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 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
  5. ^ a b Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 3, 168
  6. ^ Wahrig-Burfeind, Renate, ed., Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch, Gütersloh / München: Wissen Media Verlag; online edition at wissen.de
  7. ^ a b Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2014), 5th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin / Mannheim / Zürich: Dudenverlag, p. 244
  8. ^ a b c d 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, 584
  9. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  11. ^ Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de