Etymologically
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indem

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Pronunciation

  • /ɪnˈdeːm/[1]

Forms

indem (conjunction and adverb, invariable)[1][2]

Etymology

It is from German in + dem, the preposition with the dative of the article, written as one word.[3][4][5] Middle High German already had the phrase ⟨in dem⟩, which corresponds to Old High German innan thiu, used to say that one clause encloses the time of another.[3][6] Pfeifer explains that early New High German replaced the genitive phrase innan thes, the source of indessen, with the dative ⟨in dem⟩ followed by a clause with dass; when the conjunction was left out, the fused form became a conjunction itself.[4]

The preposition in is common Germanic, Gothic 𐌹𐌽 (in), Old English in, and with Ancient Greek ἐν (en) and Latin in goes back to Proto-Indo-European *en.[4][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Paul's first record is from 1438, as an adverb meaning “meanwhile”.[8] The phrase in dem, dass “in that” is used in the 15th century, for example in the Nuremberg police ordinances.[8][5]

Semantic evolution

As a conjunction indem was first temporal, “while”, as in Luther; it then took on a causal sense, as in Goethe, and today it is mainly instrumental, “by (doing)”.[8][5] The adverb “meanwhile”, still used by Lessing (indem tritt sie herein, “at that moment she comes in”), is now dated.[8][2] Until the 17th century the word was often printed separately as in dem.[5]

Timeline

  • 1438 – First record, as an adverb “meanwhile”.[8]
  • 15th century – The conjunction develops from in dem, dass.[4][8]
  • 16th century – Luther uses it in the temporal sense “while”.[8]
  • 17th century – It is still often printed separately.[5]
  • Late 18th century – Goethe uses it in a causal sense.[8]

Meanings

Conjunction

  1. (instrumental) By (doing), through the fact that: Sie lernte Spanisch, indem sie jeden Abend Radio hörte.[2][1]
  2. (temporal) while, as: Indem sie den Mantel auszog, klingelte das Telefon.[2][1]
  3. (regional, dated; with dass) Because, since.[2]

Adverb

  1. (dated) Meanwhile, at that moment.[2][9]
  • in
  • indessen
  • indes

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  3. ^ a b Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 442
  4. ^ a b c d Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  5. ^ a b c d e Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 10, 2107
  6. ^ Schützeichel, Rudolf (2012), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 7th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 164
  7. ^ Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2007), 4th ed., Duden vol. 7, Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
  9. ^ Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org