Etymologically
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gemeinsam

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Pronunciation

  • /ɡəˈmaɪnza(ː)m/[1]

Forms

gemeinsam (strong nominative masculine singular gemeinsamer, not comparable)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German gemeinsam, inherited from Old High German gimeinsam, a derivative from Old High German gimeini (“common”) + -sam, the older form of gemein.[2][3][1][4] Kluge and the Duden dictionary describe it as a clarifying formation, which made the old sense of the adjective “common, shared” explicit, and Kluge adds that Latin commūnis served as a model.[2][4]

The base adjective continues Proto-Germanic *gamainiz, also seen in Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌼𐌰𐌹𐌽𐍃 (gamains, “common; unholy”), Old Saxon gimēni, Old English gemǣne and English mean.[3][5] Pfeifer explains it as a formation with the prefix Proto-Germanic *ga- on a noun with an /n/ suffix meaning “exchange” (as in Meineid), parallel to Latin commūnis, so that it first meant “coming to several in turn”, then “belonging to several alike”.[3] The derivative with -sam has a counterpart in Dutch gemeenzaam (“familiar”), while Swedish gemensam was borrowed from German.[6][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German gimeinsam is first recorded in the Benedictine Rule of about 800 and in glosses, meaning “common, shared”, also “all-embracing, catholic”, where it renders Latin communis and catholicus.[5][6] Its abstract noun gimeinsamī “community” is just as old.[3]

Semantic evolution

In Early New High German the word meant “shared, joint” but also “familiar, affable, sociable”.[7] Dictionaries of the 17th century still give this second sense, and Dutch gemeenzaam kept only that meaning.[6] Adelung, around 1800, regarded the adjective as Upper German only, in both senses, and the Grimms' dictionary notes that by their time it meant only “joint, held in common”.[8][6]

The Grimms explain its growth by the decline of gemein: things shared by many were felt to be ordinary, so that gemein moved from the 15th century to “plain, common” and in the 19th century to “base, mean”, and speakers turned to gemeinsam for the old sense.[6][3] Schiller and Voss used it in the modern way, as in das gemeinsame Schicksal.[6] The noun Gemeinsamkeit appears in the 15th century.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 800 – Old High German gimeinsam appears in the Benedictine Rule.[5]
  • c. 1310 – Middle Dutch gemeenzaam “familiar” is recorded.[9]
  • 15th century – The noun Gemeinsamkeit appears.[3]
  • 15th century – gemein begins to mean “ordinary, plain”.[3]
  • 17th century – Dictionaries still give the sense “familiar, sociable”.[6]
  • c. 1800 – Adelung records the word as Upper German only.[8]
  • 19th century – gemein takes the sense “base”, and gemeinsam keeps “joint”.[3][6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Belonging to or shared by several people or things alike, common, mutual: ein gemeinsames Konto.[4][1]
  2. (mathematics) In größter gemeinsamer Teiler and kleinstes gemeinsames Vielfaches: greatest common divisor and least common multiple.[4]
  3. In etwas mit jemandem gemeinsam haben: to have something in common with someone.[4]

Adverb

  1. Together, jointly: gemeinsam kochen.[4][1]

Word family

  • Gemeinsamkeit
  • gemein
  • Gemeinde
  • Gemeinschaft
  • Meineid
  • Dutch gemeenzaam
  • English mean

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f 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. 345
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  4. ^ a b c d e f Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 5, 3263
  7. ^ Anderson, Robert R.; Goebel, Ulrich; Reichmann, Oskar, eds. (1989–), Frühneuhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter; FWB-online, fwb-online.de
  8. ^ a b Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf
  9. ^ Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de