eröffnen

Forms

eröffnen (third-person singular present eröffnet, past tense eröffnete, past participle eröffnet, auxiliary haben)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German eroffenen, inherited from Old High German iroffanōn (“to reveal, open”), the verb öffnen with the prefix er-.^[1][2][3] The same formation is Middle Low German erȫpenen.^[2]

The base verb is Middle High German offenen, Old High German offanōn, formed from the adjective offen, Old High German offan.^[4][5] That adjective is Proto-Germanic *upanaz, also found in Old Saxon opan, Old English open and Old Norse opinn and continued in English open; it was formed with an n-suffix and ablaut from the same base as auf.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the Old High German Tatian (about 830), rendering Matthew 13:35: ih aroffonon in ratissun minan mund “I will open my mouth in parables”.^[2][3] Köbler gives the senses “to reveal, open, make known, show”.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The plain sense “to open” was in use mainly from the 16th to the early 19th century and then went out of use, giving way to öffnen; it lasted longest in elevated style, as when Schiller writes that Mylord die Türe schnell eröffnete.^[2][6] Opening a will is still the legal phrase.^[6]

The sense “to make known, disclose” goes back to late Old High German, to Notker;^[6] Luther writes that heaven will eröffenen a man's misdeeds, that is, bring them to light (Job 20:27).^[6] “To make accessible” is Early New High German, and “to begin formally”, as a meeting or a hunt, became common only in the 18th century.^[6] Adelung records opening a ball by dancing the first dance and opening a school.^[7] The noun Eröffnung dates from late Middle High German.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 830 – Old High German aroffonon in the Tatian.^[2][3]
• Early 11th century – Notker uses the verb in the sense “to make known”.^[6]
• c. 1466 – The first printed German Bible has eroffnen “to open”.^[2]
• 18th century – The sense “to begin formally” becomes common.^[6]
• 1793 – Adelung records einen Ball eröffnen.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To open (to the public), especially for the first time: Im Mai eröffnet sie eine kleine Bäckerei.^[8][1]
2. (medicine; otherwise dated) To open, especially by cutting;^[8] (officialese) to open officially, as a will;^[8] (commerce) to open (an account); (law) to institute (proceedings).^[8]
3. To begin officially: Der Bürgermeister eröffnete die Versammlung.^[8][1] Das Feuer eröffnen is “to open fire”; on the stock exchange, to open in a certain way.^[8]
4. To disclose (something new or unexpected) to someone: Sie eröffnete uns, dass sie das Land verlassen werde.^[8][1] Reflexive, elevated: to confide in someone.^[8]
5. To open up, make available: Die neue Stelle eröffnet ihm ganz andere Möglichkeiten.^[8][1] Reflexive: to open up, become available.^[8]

Word family

• Eröffnung
• wiedereröffnen

Related words

• öffnen
• offen

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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. 8, 2042
3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
4. ^ a b Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 666
5. ^ Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 593
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
7. ^ a b Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag