gegenüber

Forms

gegenüber (preposition with the dative, placed before or after its noun; adverb)^[2][1] It was written separately, as gegen … über, until the 19th century.^[3] Maaler's dictionary of 1561 is the first to write it as one word, while Adelung in 1796 still kept the parts apart.^[4]

Etymology

It is a 16th-century fusion from German gegen + über.^[5][1] In Middle High German each of the prepositions could mean “opposite” on its own; they were then combined, at first freely in either order, before the order with gegen first prevailed.^[3] For a long time the governed word stood between the parts, in the dative that gegen takes, while über was used as an adverb beside it.^[4][3] The fusion started in sentences with no governed word, where the reference was clear from the context.^[4]

The first element continues Old High German gagan, Proto-Germanic *gagna-, which has no known relatives outside Germanic and is etymologically unexplained.^[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The combination first appears with the governed noun between the parts: a Frankfurt letter of 1400 speaks of a seat gein Lanstein uber, opposite Lahnstein.^[3] Luther writes vnd satzte sich gegen vber “and sat down opposite” (Genesis 21:16), without a noun.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The old split construction was still common in the 18th century: Goethe writes ich sehe Friederiken gegen ihr über stehn, and Klopstock places a grave gegen dem hohen Golgatha über.^[4][3] From the first half of the 18th century the dative is put before the fused word, as in Wieland's der schönen Nymphe gegenüber, which remains the usual order; from the middle of the 19th century the dative also follows it, an order felt to be more refined around 1900.^[4] Under the influence of French vis-à-vis de a construction with von arose, now normal with place names.^[4][2]

The word was extended from place to personal relations (Loyalität gegenüber der Menschheit, Kipphardt) and to comparisons.^[4] It forms verbs such as gegenüberliegen, gegenüberstehen and gegenüberstellen.^[4] The noun Gegenüber, modelled on French vis-à-vis, is recorded by Campe in 1808.^[4][2]

Timeline

• 1400 – gein … uber “opposite” with a place name between the parts, in a Frankfurt letter.^[3]
• 16th century – The fused word appears.^[5]
• 1561 – Maaler writes it as one word.^[4]
• First half of the 18th century – A dative before gegenüber becomes usual.^[4]
• 1796 – Adelung still writes the parts separately.^[4]
• 1808 – Campe records the noun Gegenüber.^[4]
• Mid-19th century – The dative begins to follow gegenüber.^[4]

Meanings

Preposition

1. opposite, facing: gegenüber dem Bahnhof steht ein Hotel.^[2][1]
2. Towards, in relation to a person or thing: sie ist Fremden gegenüber sehr offen.^[2][1]
3. Compared with: gegenüber dem Vorjahr sind die Mieten gestiegen.^[2][1]

Adverb

1. On the opposite side: er wohnt direkt gegenüber;^[2][1] schräg gegenüber is diagonally across.^[2][1]

Word family

• demgegenüber
• Gegenüber
• gegenüberliegen
• gegenüberstehen
• gegenüberstellen

Related words

• gegen
• über
• entgegen

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
3. ^ a b c d e f Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 5, 2276
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
5. ^ a b Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 340
6. ^ Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
7. ^ Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. 4, 7