Etymologically
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finanziell

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Pronunciation

  • /ˌfinanˈt͡si̯ɛl/[1]

Forms

finanziell (strong nominative masculine singular finanzieller, not comparable)[1]

Etymology

It is from German Finanz + -iell, a formation on the French model rather than a borrowing,[2][3][4] though Pfeifer sets French financiel beside it.[5]

The noun Finanzen “funds, state finances”, recorded from the second half of the 17th century, comes from finances (“payments, funds”).[5][2] Pfeifer derives the French noun from Old French finer (“to end, pay”), from Vulgar Latin *fīnō, from Latin fīnis (“boundary, end”), which in Late Latin also meant “tax, revenue”.[5] Duden traces it to Medieval Latin finantia, originally the neuter plural of the present participle of a Medieval Latin verb meaning “to come to an end”, so “what falls due”, perhaps on the model of Ancient Greek τέλος (télos, “end”), whose plural also meant “dues, taxes”.[2]

An older singular noun of the same form, meaning “money-lending, interest” and mostly used in the bad sense “usury, fraud”, goes back to Medieval Latin financia (“rent, tax”).[5] Under French influence it also meant state revenue from about 1600, before the plural replaced it in that sense.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The revised Grimm dictionary first records the adjective in 1814, in K. E. Schmid: in bloßer finanzieller rücksicht “from a purely financial point of view”, in the sense “relating to revenue and expenditure”.[6] Pfeifer dates it to the 19th century.[5]

Semantic evolution

The adjective first referred to public finances and their management, as when an 1889 legal history describes the duties of a village mayor as judicial, administrative, financial and military.[6] By 1839 it also meant simply “pecuniary”, of money in general, as in finanzielles Opfer and finanzielle Mittel.[6] Real loans from French in the same family are Finanzier (18th century) and finanzieren (18th–19th century).[2][5]

Timeline

  • 14th century – The older noun appears in Cologne as financie.[5]
  • c. 1600 – Finanz is used for state revenue.[5]
  • Second half of the 17th century – The plural Finanzen is recorded.[5]
  • 1814 – First record of finanziell.[6]
  • 1839 – The adjective is used in the general sense “pecuniary”.[6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Financial, relating to money or finances: Der Verein steckt in finanziellen Schwierigkeiten.[7][1]
  2. As an adverb, in money terms: Sie ist von ihren Eltern finanziell unabhängig.[7]
  • Finanz
  • Finanzen
  • finanzieren
  • Finanzier

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2007), 4th ed., Duden vol. 7, Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  3. ^ Duden. Das Fremdwörterbuch (2007), 9th ed., Duden vol. 5, Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  4. ^ Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  6. ^ a b c d e 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. 9, 496
  7. ^ a b Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag