gleich

Forms

gleich (strong nominative masculine singular gleicher, not comparable)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German gelīch, inherited from Old High German gilīh, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *galīk, inherited from Proto-Germanic *galīkaz, a compound of the prefix *ga- (“together”) (ge-) and *līką (“body, shape”), the word behind Leiche, so that it first meant “having the same body or shape”.^[2][3][4][5] The Grimms' dictionary points to Ephesians 3:6 in the Gothic Bible, where the plural renders Greek “of the same body”.^[5] The same word is Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃 (galeiks), Old Norse glíkr, Old English gelīc, Old Saxon gilīk and Old Frisian līk, and today Dutch gelijk, English like and Swedish lik.^[2][3]

Kluge notes that the analysis is less simple than it looks, because similar formations on pronominal stems point to a suffix in /l/ rather than to the noun for “shape”.^[2] Pfeifer and the Grimms' dictionary connect Lithuanian lýgus (“equal, alike”) and its Baltic relatives and set up a root meaning “shape, alike”;^[3][5] Kluge prefers to keep the Baltic group apart, deriving it from a sense “level, smooth”.^[2]

The adverbial sense “at once” developed in German from the use of the word for correspondence in place and time.^[4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German gilīh is first recorded in glosses of 765, and the adverb gilīhho before the end of the 8th century.^[7] It occurs in Isidor, the Muspilli, the Ludwigslied, Otfrid and Notker, meaning “like, equal, equivalent, corresponding”; with a genitive plural it could also mean “each, every”.^[8][7]

Semantic evolution

Middle High German gelīch also meant “straight, level” and “fair, reasonable”.^[9] Luther still writes was recht und gleich ist “what is just and fair” (Colossians 4:1), and Adelung records gleich for “straight” in everyday speech.^[10][11] The adverb “at once, immediately” is a German development, reinforced in sogleich.^[4]

Several derivatives renamed concepts of Latin learning: Tagundnachtgleiche (17th century) translates aequinoctium, and Gleichung replaced Vergleichung for the mathematical “equation” (Latin aequatio) at the end of the 17th century.^[3] Gleichgewicht “balance” is dated to the 16th century by Pfeifer and to the 17th by the Duden, which calls it a loan translation of Latin aequilibrium.^[3][12] The verb gleichen “to resemble” became strong in the 16th and 17th centuries, probably on the model of bleichen and schleichen, and the strong forms prevailed in the 18th;^[3][12] begleichen “to settle (a bill)” was coined at the end of the 19th century to replace saldieren.^[3][12]

English borrowed Gleichschaltung in 1933, and Slovene took glih “equal, just”.^[13]

Timeline

• 765 – Old High German gilīh appears in glosses.^[7]
• Late 8th century – The adverb gilīhho is recorded.^[7]
• 16th century – Gleichgewicht is recorded, according to Pfeifer.^[3]
• 16th–17th centuries – The verb gleichen takes strong forms.^[3]
• 17th century – Tagundnachtgleiche translates Latin aequinoctium.^[3]
• End of the 17th century – Gleichung becomes the mathematical term.^[3]
• Late 19th century – begleichen replaces saldieren in commercial language.^[3]
• 1933 – Gleichschaltung is borrowed into English.^[13]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Identical in every respect, the same: mit gleicher Post.^[6][1]
2. Alike in certain features, similar: Die Schwestern haben die gleiche Stimme.^[6][1]
3. (mathematics) equal: drei plus vier gleich sieben.^[6][1]
4. All the same, no matter: gleich, wer gewinnt.^[6]

Adverb

1. At once, in a moment, immediately: Ich bin gleich fertig.^[6][1]
2. Right, directly next to: gleich neben der Kirche.^[6][1]
3. (usually with a number) Surprisingly, at one go: Er kaufte gleich drei Hemden.^[6][1]

Particle

1. (unstressed, in questions) Again, trying to recall something: Wie hieß ihr Mann gleich?^[6]
2. (stressed) Expresses resignation or annoyance: Dann können wir es gleich lassen.^[6]

Preposition

1. (elevated, with the dative) like: gleich einem Pfeil.^[6]

Word family

• gleichen
• Gleichheit
• gleichsam
• Gleichung
• Gleichnis
• Gleichgewicht
• gleichgültig
• gleichwohl
• gleichzeitig
• gleichfalls
• gleichermaßen
• obgleich
• sogleich
• zugleich
• ungleich
• vergleichen
• Vergleich
• begleichen
• angleichen
• Ausgleich
• Tagundnachtgleiche

Related words

• Leiche
• -lich
• English like

Usage notes

A regional noun das Gleich “joint”, beside Geleich, was used in Upper German, with Gleiche for gout; the Grimms' dictionary also records a rare adjective gleich “supple”.^[11][14]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 362
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2007), 4th ed., Duden vol. 7, Mannheim: Dudenverlag
5. ^ a b c Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 7, 7936
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
8. ^ Schützeichel, Rudolf (2012), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 7th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 200
9. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
10. ^ Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
11. ^ a b Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf
12. ^ a b c Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2014), 5th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin / Mannheim / Zürich: Dudenverlag
13. ^ a b Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de
14. ^ Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 7, 8014