Etymologically
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einmal

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈaɪ̯nmaːl/[1]
  • Colloquial: /ˈaɪma/[1]

Forms

einmal (adverb; also an unstressed particle, colloquially shortened to mal)[1][2]

Etymology

It is from German ein (“one”) + Mal (“time, occasion”), an accusative phrase that grew into one word.[3][4][5] The second part is Old High German māl (“point in time”), the word for a point in time that is also the source of Mal.[6][7] Before the accusative became usual, the older language used phrases such as Old High German zi einemo māle (“at one time”) and the dative plural einzēn mālen, and later Middle High German ze einem māle or eines māles.[3][8] The dative was used in Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐌽𐌰𐌼𐌼𐌰 𐍃𐌹𐌽𐌸𐌰 (ainamma sinþa) and Old Norse einu sinni.[8] Parallel formations are Middle Low German ênmâl and Dutch eenmaal.[1][2]

The sources date the word differently.[3][2] Pfeifer, the Duden and Paul date the joining of the phrase to the 16th century.[3][4][6] The Grimms' revised dictionary dates the change from loose phrase to single word to about 1400, and quotes a form ze ainmâl from the Kaiserchronik (before 1147).[2] The first edition notes that Luther's Bible almost always writes the phrase separately, after which the word gradually prevailed over einsmals.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Kaiserchronik (before 1147) uses ze ainmâl for “one day, at some time in the future”.[2] In the 14th and 15th centuries authors such as Meister Eckhart still preferred ze einem mâle, eines or einest.[8]

Semantic evolution

From the start the word served both as a numeral of repetition, “once, one time”, and as a vague adverb of time, pointing to the past or the future.[3][9] Fixed combinations developed their own senses: auf einmal “at the same time, suddenly”, mit einmal “unexpectedly”, noch einmal “once more”.[3] After adverbs such as nun and erst it is weakened to a particle.[3][10]

The proverb einmal ist keinmal “once is never” is recorded in the Grimms' dictionary.[6] Es war einmal is the usual opening of fairy tales, and einmal mehr “once again” follows English once more.[10] Einmaleins “multiplication table” is the phrase ein mal eins “one times one” used as a noun from the 15th century, and einmalig “unique” appears in the 17th.[3]

Timeline

  • Before 1147 – ze ainmâl “one day” appears in the Kaiserchronik.[2]
  • c. 1400 – The phrase begins to become a single word, according to the Grimms' revised dictionary.[2]
  • 15th century – Einmaleins “multiplication table” is formed.[3]
  • 16th century – Luther writes ein mal separately.[8] Pfeifer and the Duden date the single word from this century.[3][4]
  • 17th century – einmalig appears.[3]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. once, a single time: Ich war nur einmal in Rom.[10][1]
  2. For one thing, firstly.[10][1]
  3. One day, at some time in the future: Das wirst du einmal verstehen.[10][1]
  4. Formerly, long ago: Hier stand einmal eine Mühle.[10][1]
  5. At some time, sometime: Besuchen Sie uns doch einmal![10]

Particle

  1. (unstressed) Strengthens statements, questions and requests: Hör einmal zu![10]
  2. (after certain adverbs) Limits or marks a step: erst einmal, wieder einmal.[10]

Word family

  • einmalig
  • Einmaleins

Usage notes

Nicht einmal means “not even”, and auf einmal “suddenly” or “all at once”.[1][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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. 7, 845
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag
  5. ^ Wahrig-Burfeind, Renate, ed., Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch, Gütersloh / München: Wissen Media Verlag; online edition at wissen.de
  6. ^ a b c Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
  7. ^ Schützeichel, Rudolf (2012), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 7th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 213
  8. ^ a b c d e Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 3, 230
  9. ^ Anderson, Robert R.; Goebel, Ulrich; Reichmann, Oskar, eds. (1989–), Frühneuhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter; FWB-online, fwb-online.de
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag