jetzt

Forms

jetzt^[1] Older forms are itzt, itzo, jetzo, jetzund and jetzunder.^[2][1] itzo and itzt prevailed with most writers until after the middle of the 18th century.^[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German iezuo (“just now, presently”), inherited from Old High German iozuo (“at once; further”), formed from Old High German io (“ever, always”) + zuo (“to”), that is je and zu.^[1][4][2][5] Kluge notes the striking narrowing of the meaning to the present moment,^[2] and Wahrig gives the original sense as “all the time, constantly”, which the Grimms' dictionary compares with the later immerzu.^[6][7]

As the parts grew together, several variants arose.^[2] The full form lived on as itzo, and the Upper German iezō gave jetzo.^[4] A weakened ieze, with the shorter preposition ze, gave Early New High German itz, to which a /t/ was later added, as in itzt and the modern form.^[4][3][2] The /j/ developed as in the simple adverb.^[4] iezunt, continued as jetzund, took over another adverbial ending.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German iozuo appears around 1000 in Notker, meaning “at once, further”.^[8] Middle High German iezuo is recorded from the 12th century, in the senses “just now, presently, right away”.^[4][7]

Semantic evolution

The form iez was very common in the 15th and 16th centuries, above all in Alemannic and Bavarian sources, and the diphthong survives in the dialects as ietz.^[7] Stieler's dictionary of 1691 has jetzt beside jetz, jetzo and jetzund.^[3] itzo and itzt remained the usual literary forms until the middle of the 18th century: Klopstock at first used them alone and removed them from later editions, but Grillparzer and Rückert still wrote itzt in the 19th century.^[3] jetzund and jetzunder were used as deliberate archaisms by Goethe and Heine.^[3]

Besides the present, jetzt can point to a moment in a narrated past.^[3] From the present in time came an emphatic use in questions, already in Luther's Bible, Was hab ich jtzt gethan “what have I done now”, and frequent today in Alemannic.^[3] The adjective jetzig continues Middle High German iezec, and Jetztzeit “the present age” replaced jetzige Zeit (17th century) at the beginning of the 19th century.^[4][5]

Timeline

• c. 1000 – Old High German iozuo appears in Notker.^[8]
• 12th century – Middle High German iezuo is recorded.^[2][4]
• 15th–16th centuries – iez is the usual form in Alemannic and Bavarian sources.^[7]
• 1691 – Stieler records jetzt.^[3]
• Mid-18th century – jetzt displaces the literary itzo and itzt.^[3]
• Early 19th century – Jetztzeit is formed.^[5]

Meanings

Adverb

1. now, at this moment: ich muss jetzt los.^[9][1]
2. Nowadays, as distinct from an earlier time: jetzt fährt man mit dem Zug dorthin.^[9]
3. By now, meanwhile: die Kinder sind jetzt erwachsen.^[9]
4. Now, then, referring back to what has been said or done: bist du jetzt zufrieden?.^[9][1]

Particle

1. (colloquial, stressed) In questions, expressing slight annoyance or surprise: wer ruft denn jetzt noch an?.^[9]
2. (colloquial) In questions put to oneself: wo ist jetzt mein Schlüssel?.^[9]

Word family

• jetzig
• Jetztzeit
• Jetzt

Related words

• je
• zu
• immerzu

Usage notes

Jetzt oder nie! is said when the moment to act has come, and colloquial von jetzt auf nachher means “from one moment to the next”.^[9] The noun das Jetzt (elevated) is the present as lived, often contrasted with the past.^[9][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 456
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
4. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 403
6. ^ Wahrig-Burfeind, Renate, ed., Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch, Gütersloh / München: Wissen Media Verlag; online edition at wissen.de
7. ^ a b c d Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 10, 2317
8. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
9. ^ a b c d e f g h Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag