gegenüber
Pronunciation
- [ɡeːɡŋ̍ˈʔyːbɐ][1]
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
- opposite, facing: gegenüber dem Bahnhof steht ein Hotel.[2][1]
- Towards, in relation to a person or thing: sie ist Fremden gegenüber sehr offen.[2][1]
- Compared with: gegenüber dem Vorjahr sind die Mieten gestiegen.[2][1]
Adverb
Word family
- demgegenüber
- Gegenüber
- gegenüberliegen
- gegenüberstehen
- gegenüberstellen
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
- ^ 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
- ^ 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
- ^ a b Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 340
- ^ Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
- ^ 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