Etymologically
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jährlich

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈjɛːɐ̯lɪç/, /ˈjeːɐ̯-/[1]

Forms

jährlich (strong nominative masculine singular jährlicher, not comparable)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German jærlich, inherited from Old High German jārlīh, from Old High German jār (“year”) + -līh.[1][2][3] Old High German also had the adverb jārlīhhēn (“yearly”).[3][4] The same formation is English yearly and Middle Dutch jaerlijc.[1]

Its base Jahr is Proto-Germanic *jērą (“year”), also in Gothic 𐌾𐌴𐍂 (jēr), Old Norse ár and Old English ġēar.[5][3] It is compared with Ancient Greek ὥρα (hṓra, “season, hour”), Avestan yār- and Latin hōrnus (“of this year”), from Proto-Indo-European *i̯ēro- (“year, summer”).[5][3] Kluge starts from a meaning “spring”, years being counted by springs, and calls a derivation from the root “to go” very uncertain.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German jārlīh “yearly” is recorded once, in Notker, about 1000.[2][6] Middle High German jærlich is found from the late 12th century.[7]

Semantic evolution

The meaning has stayed “happening every year”.[8][9] Luther's Bible uses it of a yearly atonement and a yearly sacrifice.[10] Older German also had the adverbial forms jährlichen and jährlichs, the latter going back to Notker's jârlîches.[10]

Adelung, around 1800, distinguished two senses: what happens once every year, and what happens over the course of a year, as in a yearly income.[11]

Timeline

  • c. 1000 – Old High German jārlīh in Notker.[2]
  • Late 12th century – Middle High German jærlich appears.[7]
  • 16th century – Luther's Bible uses jerlich.[10]
  • 1793 – Adelung records the adjective and adverb with two senses.[11]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Annual, yearly, happening or due every year: die jährliche Wartung der Heizung.[9][1]

Adverb

  1. Every year, annually: Der Beitrag wird jährlich überwiesen.[9][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
  5. ^ a b c Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 454
  6. ^ Schützeichel, Rudolf (2012), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 7th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 169
  7. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  8. ^ Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities
  9. ^ a b c Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  10. ^ 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. 10, 2244
  11. ^ a b Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf