einzig

Forms

einzig (strong nominative masculine singular einziger, not comparable)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German einzec, also einzic, formed in the 12th century from Middle High German einez (“single”) + -ec.^[2][3][4] It is built like einzeln, on the same base.^[2][5] That base goes back to Old High German einezzi (“single, successive”), whose dative plural gave the 8th-century adverb einezzēn (“singly, one after another”), and is a derivative of ein (“one”), from Proto-Germanic *ainaz and Proto-Indo-European *óynos (“one”).^[3][6][7]

The Grimms' dictionary notes that no related language has a matching formation, neither Old Saxon nor Dutch nor English, and calls it an unnecessary new word, since the older einig already meant “sole, only”.^[8] It thinks the adjective was abstracted from the adverbial dative, Middle High German einzigen (“one by one”).^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The oldest quotation in the revised Grimm dictionary is adverbial, from the Younger Judith of 1130/50: dî heiden vluhen einzigen dan “the heathens fled away one by one”.^[9] Middle High German einzec meant “single, separate, one at a time”, as in Lexer's quotations, and the adjective appears in Meister Eckhart.^[10][8]

Semantic evolution

From late Middle High German on, einzig came under the influence of einig, the derivative of ein, and in Early New High German it took over that word's old sense “only one, present only once”.^[3][9][5] The older sense “single, separate” survived mainly in the south and west and has been dialectal since the mid-18th century.^[9] Luther's Bible still uses only einig, never einzig.^[8] In 1774 Adelung still denied the sense “the only one” to the higher style, but before 1800 it had become the usual written word for singularity.^[9]

From “only one of its kind” came “unique, incomparable”, and as an adverb “only, exclusively”, often in the pair einzig und allein.^[3][11] More recent German also uses it to intensify an adjective (einzig schön).^[3][12] Since the meaning hardly allows comparison, the superlative einzigste is a pleonasm, yet Goethe used it in Faust II and Heine and Raabe have it too.^[11] The compound einzigartig “unique” dates from the end of the 19th century.^[3]

Timeline

• 1130/50 – The adverbial dative einzigen “one by one” in the Younger Judith.^[9]
• 12th century – Middle High German einzec, einzic.^[2][4]
• 1774 – Adelung still rejects the sense “the only one” for the higher style.^[9]
• 1811 – Goethe writes die ersten und einzigsten Nachrichten, with the superlative.^[9]
• End of the 19th century – einzigartig “unique” appears.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Only, sole, occurring just once: sie war die einzige Zeugin.^[13][1]
2. Used as a noun: der Einzige, das Einzige, the only one, the only thing: das war das Einzige, was half.^[13]
3. Intensifying: nothing but, one single: der Garten war ein einziges Durcheinander.^[13]
4. Unique, incomparable: einzig in seiner Art.^[13][1]

Adverb

1. Only, exclusively: einzig sie kannte den Weg, and in the phrase einzig und allein “solely”.^[13][1]
2. Before an adjective, intensifying: extraordinarily: ein einzig schöner Abend.^[13][12]

Word family

• einzigartig

Related words

• ein
• einzeln
• einig

Usage notes

The superlative einzigste is common in colloquial speech and occurs in Goethe, Heine and Raabe, though strictly the word admits no degrees.^[11] Where einzig passes into “incomparable”, a comparative is possible, as in Goethe's noch einziger.^[11][12]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 237
3. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
5. ^ a b Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2014), 5th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin / Mannheim / Zürich: Dudenverlag
6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
7. ^ Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. 2, 989
8. ^ a b c d Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 3, 356
9. ^ 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, 1159
10. ^ Lexer, Matthias (1872–1878), Mittelhochdeutsches Handwörterbuch, 3 vols., Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 1, 531
11. ^ 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
12. ^ 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, 357
13. ^ a b c d e f Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag