nämlich

Forms

nämlich (no predicative form, strong nominative masculine singular nämlicher, not comparable)^[1] Older spellings are nemlich, and, by association with nehmen, nähmlich and nehmlich;^[2] Swabian and Alemannic usually have namlich without umlaut.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German nemelīche, also namelīche, the adverb of namelich (“named, known, explicit”),^[3][4][2] inherited from Old High German namalīh (“important, known”), formed from Old High German namo + -līh.^[5][3] The parts are Name and -lich.^[1] Kluge treats it as the same word as namentlich, with umlaut after the suffix syllable was shortened; the other form took a secondary ⟨t⟩ in the 15th century.^[6][3] The meaning is thus “expressly named”, which is why the word now introduces a closer specification.^[6]

Old High German namo is the common Germanic word for “name”, the same as Gothic 𐌽𐌰𐌼𐍉 (namō) and English name, and related to Latin nōmen and Ancient Greek ὄνομα (ónoma).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The adverb namalīhho “by name” is recorded in Old High German glosses of the 9th century;^[5][3] Notker (about 1000) has the adjective namalīh “known, important”.^[5][3] Pfeifer also cites neminlīh from the 10th century.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In Middle High German the adverb meant “expressly, by name; above all; truly; in the same way”.^[7][2] The adjective meant “named and specified”, as in a 1521 court order summoning someone auff einem nähmlichen tag “on a named day”, and “well known, notable”; both senses are now gone.^[2][3] After der or dieser Central German used it for “the one just named”, from which came the adjective der nämliche “the very same”, first in Aler's dictionary;^[2] Gottsched and Adelung objected to it.^[2]

The Early New High German dictionary already shows the modern uses, “namely, that is to say” and “especially, above all”.^[8] The causal use, giving the reason for what was just said, is now the most frequent, and it often fades into a mere filler.^[4]

Timeline

• 9th century – Old High German namalīhho “by name” in glosses.^[5]
• 10th century – neminlīh.^[3]
• c. 1000 – namalīh in Notker.^[5][3]
• 13th century – Middle High German name(n)līche.^[6][9]
• 15th century – namentlich with ⟨t⟩ splits off.^[3]
• 1521 – auff einem nähmlichen tag in a court order.^[2]

Meanings

Adverb

1. Since, you see (giving a reason, placed after the verb): Ich komme heute nicht, ich bin nämlich krank.^[4][1]
2. namely, that is to say: zweimal im Monat, nämlich am ersten und am fünfzehnten.^[4][1][9]

Adjective

1. (elevated, dated) The very same: im nämlichen Jahr.^[4][1]

Related words

• Name
• namentlich
• namhaft

Usage notes

In speech the word is often reduced to /ˈnɛm(l)ɪç/.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 13, 345
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 e Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
6. ^ a b c Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 648
7. ^ Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2007), 4th ed., Duden vol. 7, Mannheim: Dudenverlag
8. ^ Anderson, Robert R.; Goebel, Ulrich; Reichmann, Oskar, eds. (1989–), Frühneuhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter; FWB-online, fwb-online.de
9. ^ a b Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org