international

Forms

international (strong nominative masculine singular internationaler, not comparable)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from English international, a word coined in 1789 by the jurist Jeremy Bentham in his “Principles of Morals and Legislation”, in the phrase international law.^[2][3][4] Bentham meant it to express the Latin jūs gentium (“law of nations”), which he thought should rather be understood as jūs inter gentēs (“law between nations”).^[3] He formed it from Latin inter (“between”) and English national.^[5][6] In German it can be analysed as inter- and national.^[1][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The English term was quoted in German in 1833 in a handbook of international law; in 1841 a German author introduced internationales Privatrecht, noting that German had lacked such a word.^[3] Paul dates the adjective to 1839.^[4]

Semantic evolution

In law the word did not displace the old term Völkerrecht.^[3][4] From about 1850 it became very popular outside legal language, in the general sense “not limited to one nation”; a writer of 1888 thought the international exhibitions held since 1851 had done most to spread it.^[3][2] The noun Internationale comes from the International Workingmen's Association founded in London in 1864 and later also names its anthem.^[4] The word is now positive in connotation, but in the National Socialist period it was used pejoratively for “un-German”.^[4] Hungarian took internacionális in 1841.^[8]

Timeline

• 1789 – Jeremy Bentham coins English international.^[3][2]
• 1833 – The English term is quoted in a German handbook of international law.^[3]
• 1839 – Paul's first record of the German adjective.^[4]
• 1841 – internationales Privatrecht is introduced;^[3][8] Hungarian internacionális is recorded.^[3][8]
• c. 1850 – The word spreads outside legal language.^[3]
• 1864 – The International Workingmen's Association is founded, the source of Internationale.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Between several states, intergovernmental: internationale Verträge.^[5][1]
2. Not limited to one nation, involving several countries, worldwide: ein internationales Turnier.^[5][7]

Word family

• Internationale
• Internationalismus
• Internationalität
• internationalisieren

Related words

• national
• Nation
• English international

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Schulz, Hans; Basler, Otto, et al. (1913–1988), Deutsches Fremdwörterbuch, 7 vols., Strasbourg / Berlin: Trübner / De Gruyter; 2nd ed., ed. Gerhard Strauß et al. (1995–), Berlin / New York: De Gruyter; via OWID, Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache
4. ^ a b c d e f g Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
5. ^ a b c Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
6. ^ Wahrig-Burfeind, Renate, ed., Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch, Gütersloh / München: Wissen Media Verlag; online edition at wissen.de
7. ^ a b Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
8. ^ a b c Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de