Etymologically
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einsetzen

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈʔaɪ̯nzɛtsn̩/, /ˈʔaɪ̯nzɛtsən/[1]

Forms

einsetzen (third-person singular present setzt ein, past tense setzte ein, past participle eingesetzt, auxiliary haben)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German īnsetzen, inherited from Old High German insezzen (“to put in, place beside”), inherited from Proto-West Germanic *insattjan, formed from ein- and setzen.[1][2][3][4] The same compound is Dutch inzetten, Swedish insätta and Danish indsætte,[5] and it can be compared with English inset.[1]

The base verb is Old High German sezzen, Proto-Germanic *satjaną (“to set”), the same word as Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐍄𐌾𐌰𐌽 (satjan), Old Norse setja, Old English settan (now English set) and Old Saxon settian.[6][7] It is the causative of sitzen, “to make sit”, from Proto-Indo-European *sod-éye-.[6][7] Pfeifer compares the causatives Sanskrit सादयति (sādáyati, “makes sit down”), Old Church Slavonic садити (saditi, “to set, plant”) and Lithuanian sodìnti (“to set, plant”), made from the same root.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German insezzen is recorded in the Tatian (about 830), the Otfrid glosses and other glosses, meaning “to place beside, lay in, put in, install”.[4][8] Middle High German īnsetzen appears in Gottfried's Tristan (about 1210) and in charters from 1251.[3]

Semantic evolution

The Grimms' dictionary shows the verb used of setting a king on the throne or a priest or judge in office, as in Luther's Bible, and of putting someone in possession of land, which it explains by the old custom of taking possession by actually sitting on the ground; from this come zum Erben einsetzen “to appoint as heir” and the putting of a creditor into a debtor's goods.[5] The Early New High German dictionary also records the senses “to pledge”, “to found, institute” and “to use for a purpose”.[9]

Early New High German also used einsetzen for “to put in prison”, as in Luther's Acts 4:3, and Schiller still wrote gefangen eingesetzt.[10][5] The sense “to give as a pledge” has gone out of use (Goethe still has it), but the stake in a game survived, and with it the figurative seine Ehre einsetzen and the reflexive sich einsetzen für “to work hard for”.[10] The intransitive sense, of a voice or instrument that comes in, is also recorded by Paul.[10] The military use, Truppen einsetzen, replaced older ansetzen from 1893, at first intransitively; it then spread with the noun Einsatz into civilian language and was used very widely under National Socialism.[10]

Timeline

  • c. 830 – Old High German insezzen in the Tatian.[4]
  • c. 1210 – Middle High German īnsetzen in Gottfried's Tristan.[3]
  • 1251 – First record in a Middle High German charter.[3]
  • 1893 – First record of the military sense, still intransitive (Rosegger).[10]
  • First World War – Einsatz is used of the deployment of troops.[10]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To put in, insert, fit as a part: ein neues Schloss in die Tür einsetzen.[11][1] Also to plant, or to put fish into a pond: Forellen in den Teich einsetzen.[11][1]
  2. (transport) To run in addition: zusätzliche Busse einsetzen.[11]
  3. To appoint, set up: Der Stadtrat setzte eine Arbeitsgruppe ein. jemanden zum Erben einsetzen.[11][1][2]
  4. To deploy, use for a task: Die Feuerwehr setzte Drohnen ein.[11][1]
  5. To install in an office or position: jemanden in sein Amt einsetzen.[11][2]
  6. To stake as a bet, or to risk: zehn Euro einsetzen, sein Leben einsetzen.[11][1]
  7. (reflexive) To exert oneself, to stand up for someone or something: Sie setzt sich für bessere Radwege ein.[11][1]
  8. (intransitive) To begin, set in: Am Nachmittag setzte Regen ein.[1][10][2]

Word family

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 Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
  3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  5. ^ a b c Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 3, 292
  6. ^ a b c Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  7. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  8. ^ Schützeichel, Rudolf (2012), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 7th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 278
  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 Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag