insbesondere

Pronunciation

• /ɪnsbəˈzɔndəʁə/^[1]

Forms

insbesondere^[1]

Etymology

It is the phrase “in das besondere” written as one word, from German ins + Besondere (“the particular”).^[1][2][3] The Grimms' dictionary mentions the view that it imitates French en particulier.^[3] It replaced the older insonderheit and insonders, and the form of its first part follows older formations such as insgesamt and insgemein.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Paul's first record is insbesondre in Gottsched's weekly Der Biedermann (1728), meaning “above all”.^[2] The Grimms' dictionary says the word does not seem to appear in the written language before the 18th century, and quotes Lessing from 1751.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Adelung (1793) still preferred to write it separately, ins besondere, from the adjective besonder.^[4] Goethe wrote in s'besondre in the West-östlicher Divan.^[2] The short form insbesondre is still found beside the full one.^[5][1]

Timeline

• 1728 – Gottsched uses insbesondre.^[2]
• 1751 – Lessing uses insbesondere.^[3]
• 1793 – Adelung recommends writing ins besondere separately.^[4]

Meanings

Adverb

1. especially, in particular, above all: sie liest gern, insbesondere Krimis.^[5][1]

Related words

• besonders
• insonderheit

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
3. ^ 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, 2138
4. ^ a b Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf, p. 2, 1385
5. ^ a b Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag