Etymologically
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erheblich

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Forms

erheblich (strong nominative masculine singular erheblicher, not comparable)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from German erheben + -lich in the 16th century, from the verb in the sense “to carry through, establish”, so that it first meant “feasible, attainable”.[2][1] In the language of lawyers and chanceries it then served to render Latin relevāns (“relevant”), literally “heavy enough to lift the other scale of the balance”, and that legal use passed into the general language.[2][3] The verb erheben, Middle High German erheben, Old High German irheffen, is a prefixed form of heben, Old High German heffen, from Proto-Germanic *hafjaną, also in Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐍆𐌾𐌰𐌽 (hafjan), Old English hebban and Old Norse hefja.[4][5] It belongs with haben and with Latin capiō (“to take, seize”) and Ancient Greek κάπτω (káptō, “to snap up, gulp down”) to the root Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to grasp”).[4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The revised Grimms' dictionary first finds the word in a Mainz court order of 1521, of legal exceptions so fer sy erheblich vnd zuͦlessig weren, “in so far as they were justified and admissible”.[3] Johann von Schwarzenberg used it in the sense “possible, feasible”.[7]

Semantic evolution

In legal and official language the adjective went with words for causes and reasons, erhebliche Ursachen, erhebliche Gründe, meaning “valid, legally relevant”, as in an excuse no longer erheblich in 1580 and a guild rule of 1604.[3] Weckherlin's erhöblich meant “worthy of praise”.[7] From “weighty” the word came to mean “considerable, large”, its common sense today, while law keeps the older “relevant”, as in the facts erheblich for a lawsuit (1902).[7][3][8] Its opposite unerheblich means “irrelevant, insignificant”.[7]

Timeline

  • 1521 – First record, in a Mainz court order.[3]
  • 1580 – Schweinichen writes that he had no erhebliche Entschuldigung left.[3]
  • 1604 – A Frankfurt guild rule speaks of erhebliche und rechtmäßige Ursachen.[3]
  • 1902 – Kohler writes of facts erheblich for a lawsuit.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. considerable, significant, of real weight: Die Reparatur verursachte erhebliche Kosten.[8][1]
  2. (law) Relevant, legally significant: rechtlich erhebliche Tatsachen.[3]

Adverb

  1. considerably: Der neue Zug ist erheblich schneller.[8][1]

Word family

  • unerheblich
  • erheben
  • heben
  • erhaben
  • relevant

References

  1. ^ a b c d 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. 254
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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, 1810
  4. ^ a b Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  5. ^ Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. 4, 877
  6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  7. ^ 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, 846
  8. ^ a b c Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag