Etymologically
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mittlerweile

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Pronunciation

  • /mɪtlɐˈvaɪ̯lə/[1]

Forms

mittlerweile[1]

Etymology

It is a fusion of the Middle High German phrase in mitler wīle (“in the meantime”), with the dative singular of the adjective mittel “middle” and of the noun Weile “while”.[2][3][4][5] The adjective is Middle High German mittel, Old High German mittil, derived from Proto-Germanic *medja- (“middle”), the source of Mitte; the same formation is Dutch middel and English middle.[3][5][6] Its positive form is now rarely used outside compounds, and the adverb keeps it alive.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The adverb appears in the 16th century.[2][3] The Grimms' dictionary finds it rarely in sources of the 16th and 17th centuries, among them the Teuerdank and Johann Fischart's Geschichtklitterung: mitlerweil warfen sechs seines hofgesinds .. senf in das maul (“meanwhile six of his courtiers threw mustard into his mouth”).[7]

Semantic evolution

From the 18th century on the fused spelling became the rule, and the word was common with Lessing, Goethe and Schiller.[7] Adelung lists mittlerweile and Mittlerzeit as adverbs meaning “in the meantime”.[8] It was also used as a conjunction “while”, still by Goethe.[7][3] Today it means both “meanwhile” and “by now, in the course of time”.[4]

Timeline

  • 16th century – The phrase mittler Weile is joined into an adverb.[2][3]
  • 18th century – The fused spelling becomes the rule.[7]
  • 1793 – Adelung records mittlerweile and Mittlerzeit.[8]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. By now, in the course of time: Das Dorf ist mittlerweile eine kleine Stadt.[4][1]
  2. Meanwhile, in the meantime: Koch du, ich decke mittlerweile den Tisch.[4][1]
  3. (dated) As a conjunction: while, whereas.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 628
  3. ^ a b c d e Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  4. ^ a b c d Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  5. ^ a b c Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2007), 4th ed., Duden vol. 7, Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  6. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  7. ^ a b c d e Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 12, 2425
  8. ^ a b Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf