lösen

Forms

lösen (third-person singular present löst, past tense löste, past participle gelöst, auxiliary haben)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German lœsen, inherited from Old High German lōsen, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *lausijan, inherited from Proto-Germanic *lausijaną (“to make loose, set free”), derived from the adjective los “loose, free”.^[2][3][1][4] The same verb is Gothic 𐌻𐌰𐌿𐍃𐌾𐌰𐌽 (lausjan), Old Norse leysa, Old English līesan, Old Frisian lēsa and Old Saxon lōsian.^[4][2][5]

The adjective, Proto-Germanic *lausaz, is in turn derived from a verb meaning “to lose, loosen”, which survives in German only in the prefixed verlieren.^[4][5] Köbler traces the family to Proto-Indo-European *lewH- (“to cut, separate, loosen”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German lōsen is recorded from the end of the 8th century in glosses and then in Tatian, Otfrid, Notker and the Muspilli; it meant “to loosen, untie”, “to free, deliver (from)”, “to ransom” and “to pay”.^[6][7] The prefixed irlōsen “to redeem” and its agent noun irlōsāri “redeemer” are also of the 8th century.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Middle High German lœsen meant “to loosen, free, redeem, buy back, pay”.^[2] Luther uses it of freeing prisoners (der Herr löset die Gefangenen) and of redeeming a pledge or a firstborn animal, a use now taken over by einlösen and erlösen.^[8][9] From redeeming something sold or pledged came “to get money by selling”, the source of Erlös (early 18th century).^[8][2] The phrase eine Fahrkarte lösen “to buy a ticket” is recorded by Sanders.^[8]

Other senses grew from “to make loose”: to annul a contract or engagement, to solve a riddle or a doubt, to dissolve salt in water, and formerly to fire a gun (Lessing: ich lösete das Pistol).^[8][3] Hunters say of game that it löst sich, relieves itself.^[10][11] The chemical sense of Lösung was shortened from Auflösung in the 19th century.^[3]

Timeline

• End of the 8th century – Old High German lōsen in glosses.^[6]
• 8th century – irlōsen “to redeem” and irlōsāri “redeemer”.^[2]
• 9th century – lōsunga “redemption”.^[2]
• Early 18th century – Erlös “proceeds”.^[2]
• 19th century – Lösung as a chemical term.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To detach, remove, take off: ein Etikett von der Flasche lösen;^[12][1] (reflexive) to come off, come loose; to break away, free oneself.^[12][1]
2. To loosen: den Gürtel lösen;^[12][1] (reflexive) to become loose.^[12][1]
3. To solve, resolve: eine Gleichung lösen;^[12][1] (reflexive) to resolve itself.^[12][1]
4. To annul, dissolve (a contract, a relationship).^[12][1]
5. To dissolve in a liquid;^[12][1] (reflexive) to dissolve.^[12][1]
6. (formal) To fire (a shot); (reflexive) to go off by accident.^[12]
7. To buy (a ticket).^[12][1]
8. (dated, regional) To bring in as proceeds.^[12]

Word family

• ablösen
• auflösen
• auslösen
• einlösen
• erlösen
• Erlös
• Erlöser
• Lösung
• Lösegeld
• löslich
• lösbar
• loslösen

Related words

• los
• verlieren

Usage notes

Jemandem die Zunge lösen is to make someone talkative; it once meant literally to cut the band under a child's tongue so it could move freely.^[10][8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 520
4. ^ a b c Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 584
5. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
7. ^ Schützeichel, Rudolf (2012), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 7th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 206
8. ^ 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
9. ^ Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 12, 1190
10. ^ a b Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf
11. ^ Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag