noch

noch¹ still, yet

Pronunciation

• /nɔx/, /nɔ/^[1]
• Austria, Southern-Germany, also, southern-Germany: /no/^[1]

Forms

noch (adverb; not inflected)^[1]

Etymology

The adverb “still, yet” is inherited from Middle High German noch, inherited from Old High German noh, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *noh, inherited from Proto-Germanic *nuh.^[2][1] The same word is Old Saxon noh, Old Frisian noch, Dutch nog and Gothic 𐌽𐌰𐌿𐌷 (nauh).^[2][3] It was formed by joining nu (“now”) (see nun) and the enclitic particle Proto-Germanic *-h (“and, also”), which corresponds to Latin -que and Ancient Greek τε (te).^[2][3] Behind this lies a combination of Proto-Indo-European *nu (“now”) and Proto-Indo-European *-kʷe (“and”), so that the starting sense of the adverb was “and now, now also”.^[3][1][4]

Pfeifer explains the West Germanic vowel /o/ as perhaps due to the following guttural spirant, like the regular change of Germanic /u/ before /h/ to the Gothic vowel spelled ⟨aú⟩.^[3] Brugmann instead took the Gothic form as a diphthong, started from Proto-Indo-European *nou-kʷe and saw the Old High German and Old Saxon forms as shortened from a long vowel.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German noh is recorded from the 8th century, first in glosses of about 765, and then in Isidor, the Tatian, Otfrid and Notker.^[2][5] Schützeichel's dictionary lists it with senses that cover both modern words: “still, as yet, also, besides, further”, and “and not, also not”.^[6] Paul finds the temporal sense, that a state lasts up to a given moment, already in Otfrid.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The adverb is first of all a word of time, marking that something continues up to the moment spoken of.^[7][4] Already in Old High German it could also add something further, as in Notker's hōre noh “listen further”, which shows the step from the temporal to the additive use.^[3][4] Down to Early New High German it could also express a contrast, a use now taken by dennoch.^[3]

Repeating noch einmal came to intensify a quantity or quality, as in noch einmal so viel “twice as much” (17th century, earlier noch einst so vil in the 16th).^[3] Early New High German also had nur noch so in this sense.^[3] From the 17th century noch so appears in concessive clauses meaning “however much”, as in er mag noch so klug sein “however clever he may be”.^[3] In Bavarian, Swiss and other dialects the final consonant is often lost (no).^[7]

Timeline

• 8th century – Old High German noh is first recorded.^[2][5]
• c. 1000 – Notker uses hōre noh “listen further”, an early additive use.^[3]
• 16th century – noch einst so vil “twice as much” in Early New High German.^[3]
• 17th century – noch einmal so viel and the concessive noch so “however much” are recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Adverb

1. still: the state or process continues, though it may soon end.^[8][1]
2. With an amount: only so much is left (ich habe nur noch zwei Mark).^[8]
3. Before something else happens; also at some time in the future, eventually (er wird noch kommen).^[8][1]
4. With a time phrase: as recently as, no later than (noch gestern).^[8][4]
5. In addition, besides, another.^[8][1]
6. With a comparative: even (noch besser).^[8][1]
7. After a question: again.^[1]

Word family

• dennoch
• annoch

noch² nor

Pronunciation

• /nɔx/, /nɔ/^[1]
• Austria, Southern-Germany, also, southern-Germany: /no/^[1]

Forms

noch (conjunction)^[1]

Etymology

The conjunction “nor” is inherited from Middle High German noch, inherited from Old High German noh, like Old Saxon noh and Old Frisian noch.^[2] Kluge explains it as a contraction of the negation ni (or ⟨ne⟩) with ⟨-uh⟩, a variant of the particle Proto-Germanic *-h (“and”) found in the adverb noch¹.^[2] The Duden dictionary takes the second part as ouh (“also”), so that the word meant “also not”.^[8] With a different vowel the same formation is Gothic 𐌽𐌹𐌷 (nih); outside Germanic it matches Latin neque.^[2][9] Kluge leaves open how far auch took part in the German forms, comparing nec, which may come from a negation with an Old Saxon word for “also” or “but”.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German noh “and not, nor” is recorded from the 8th century.^[2] In the Tatian it divides a negative statement: noh thesêr suntôta noh sîne eldiron “neither this man sinned nor his parents”.^[10]

Semantic evolution

In the old language the conjunction could also join a negative clause to a positive one, strengthen a negation, or introduce a question like Latin nonne.^[10] Modern German uses it only to continue a negation that comes before it, above all in weder … noch “neither … nor”.^[10][8] The paired noch … noch “neither … nor” lived on beside weder … noch until the end of the 18th century;^[10] Luther wrote noch sichtbarlich noch unsichtbarlich “neither visibly nor invisibly”.^[10]

Timeline

• 8th century – Old High German noh “nor” is first recorded.^[2]
• End of the 18th century – noch … noch gives way to weder … noch.^[10]

Meanings

Conjunction

1. nor: after a negation, especially in weder … noch “neither … nor”, introducing each further item that is also not true.^[8][1]