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folgend

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Etymology and origin of the German word folgend

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
Old High German glosses
Inherited from
Middle High German volgende
Ultimate origin
Proto-Germanic (*fulgāną)

Forms

folgend (strong nominative masculine singular folgender, not comparable)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German volgende, inherited from Old High German folgēnto, the present participle of the verb folgen.[1][2][3] That verb is volgen, folgēn, Proto-Germanic *fulgāną, the same word as Old English folgian, Old Norse fylgja, Dutch volgen and English follow; it has no clear relatives outside Germanic.[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German folgēnto is found only in the glosses.[3][6]

Semantic evolution

The spatial sense of folgen, “to go after”, was early transferred to succession in time, as in am folgenden Tag “on the following day”.[7] In the 16th and 17th centuries the uninflected form was also an adverb “afterwards, then”, and Luther used it for folglich “consequently”.[8] That adverb has fallen out of use.[8]

Timeline

  • Old High German – folgēnto appears in glosses.[3]
  • 16th century – Luther uses folgend as an adverb “afterwards” and “consequently”.[8]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. following, subsequent, coming next in time or order: in den folgenden Wochen.[1][2]

Adverb

  1. (obsolete) Afterwards, then; also “consequently”.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
  3. ^ a b c Schützeichel, Rudolf (2012), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 7th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 108
  4. ^ Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 308
  5. ^ Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  7. ^ Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 280
  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, 1879

Related etymologies

  • dass · also from Old High German
  • nach · also from Old High German
  • können · also from Old High German
  • dieser · also from Old High German
  • bei · also from Old High German
  • als · also from Old High German
  • auch · also from Old High German
  • er · also from Old High German
Cite this entry

“Folgend.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/de/folgend. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·