Etymologically
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knapp

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Pronunciation

  • /knap/, [knap][1]

Forms

knapp (strong nominative masculine singular knapper, comparative knapper, superlative am knappsten)[1] In early High German texts the Low German ⟨pp⟩ was sometimes turned into ⟨pf⟩, giving knapf.[2] The comparative and superlative are mostly without umlaut.[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle Low German knap (“narrow, scarce, sparse”), taken into the literary language in the 16th century.[3][4][5][6] Related words are Dutch knap (“close-fitting, quick, clever”), Old Norse knappr (“quick (of waves)”) and, unless it is from Middle Low German, Swedish knapp (“scanty, sparing, quick”).[4]

Its further origin is unclear.[3][4][5] Kluge and Duden mention a derivation from *ge-hnapp, linked with hneppr (“narrow, scant”) and hneppa (“to pinch, constrain”), but Kluge notes that the Norse word also has regional forms with kn-, so the cluster may be old.[3][5] Kluge also considers the words with kn- for “to squeeze” (kneipen, knapsen), and Pfeifer, with a question mark, an expressive doubling of the consonant in a labial extension of Proto-Indo-European *gen- (“to squeeze, pinch”), the root he gives for knicken, Knopf and Knoten.[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Fischart, in the 16th century, is the first to use it, of clothes, meaning “close-fitting”, hence “neat, pretty”, and also “nimble”, as Dutch knap.[4][7] Middle Low German knap meant “narrow, scarce, sparse”.[4]

Semantic evolution

From the 16th and 17th centuries it is used of goods, money and time that are scarce or barely sufficient, as today.[7] Schottelius in 1663 also records “lively, skilful” (ein knappes Mädlein) and “meagre, frugal” (es gehet hier knap her), and the adverb “only just”.[7] The sense “tight” of clothes appears in Kramer's dictionary of 1700, and “brief, terse” of speech in the 18th century.[7] Paul finds the development hard to trace, because the probable original sense “tight” is recorded late.[7]

The word long remained northern: the Bremen dictionary thought it hardly known to High Germans, and Denzler's Basel dictionary of 1716 does not list it.[2] The phrase nicht zu knapp “quite a lot” is a modern ironic use of the sense “meagre”.[7]

Timeline

  • 16th century – Fischart uses it of close-fitting clothes.[4][7]
  • 16th–17th century – The sense “scarce, barely sufficient”.[7]
  • 1663 – Schottelius records “lively, skilful” and “meagre”.[7]
  • 1700 – Kramer records the sense “tight” of clothes.[7]
  • 1716 – Denzler's Basel dictionary still lacks the word.[2]
  • 18th century – The sense “terse” of speech.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Scarce, barely sufficient: das Wasser wurde knapp;[8][1] knapp bei Kasse sein “to be short of money”.[8][1]
  2. Just sufficient, narrow: eine knappe Mehrheit.[8][1]
  3. Somewhat less than (a number or period): knapp zwei Stunden.[8][1]
  4. Very close to: knapp hinter der Grenze.[8]
  5. Of clothes: tight, too short: die Jacke sitzt knapp.[1][9][7]
  6. Concise, terse: eine knappe Antwort.[9][7]

Adverb

  1. Narrowly, barely: sie hat den Zug knapp verpasst.[1][8]

Word family

  • Knappheit
  • knapsen
  • kneipen
  • Dutch knap

Usage notes

Jemanden knapp halten is to give someone only the bare minimum, for example of money.[8] The colloquial kurz vor knapp means “at the very last moment”.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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. 11, 1338
  3. ^ a b c d Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 505
  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
  6. ^ Wahrig-Burfeind, Renate, ed., Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch, Gütersloh / München: Wissen Media Verlag; online edition at wissen.de
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  9. ^ a b Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org