Etymologically
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politisch

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Pronunciation

  • /poˈliːtɪʃ/[1]

Forms

politisch (strong nominative masculine singular politischer, comparative politischer, superlative am politischsten)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French politique, from Latin polīticus (“of the state”), from Ancient Greek πολιτικός (polītikós, “of the citizens, of the state”), from πολίτης (polī́tēs, “citizen”), from πόλις (pólis, “city, state”).[2][3][4] The ending was adapted with the German suffix -isch.[1] The noun Politik was borrowed from French in the 17th century.[3][5] Polizei belongs to the same Greek family, through πολιτεία (polīteía, “citizenship, administration”).[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Pfeifer dates the adjective to the middle of the 16th century, in the sense “concerning the state”; the Grimms quote Burkard Waldis, who calls die politisch gesetz a cobweb that catches flies and lets birds through.[3][7]

Semantic evolution

Paul gives the early senses as “public, of the state” and, more generally, “worldly-wise”.[5] In the 17th and 18th centuries the word was often used of social conduct, sometimes negatively: Adelung (1777) says it often means “cunning, sly”, and in Goethe's Wilhelm Meister a character is not politisch enough to hide her feelings.[5][3] A Bavarian source of 1694 still uses it for a courtly, refined tutor.[7]

Goethe's line Ein garstig Lied! Pfui! Ein politisch Lied! from Faust became a familiar quotation.[5][4] Politiker is first used by Klopstock, and politisieren, 17th century, first meant “to talk politics”.[5]

Timeline

  • Mid-16th century – politisch is borrowed in the sense “concerning the state”.[3]
  • 1656 – Seckendorff uses the noun Politic.[5]
  • 17th century – The sense “clever, crafty” appears;[3][5] politisieren is recorded.[3][5]
  • 1777 – Adelung notes the sense “cunning, sly”.[5]
  • 18th century – Politiker appears.[3][5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. political, relating to politics and the state: eine politische Partei.[4][1]
  2. Pursuing political aims: ein politischer Streik.[4]
  3. (dated) Shrewd, tactically clever.[5][3]

Word family

Usage notes

Politische Gefangene are people held for political reasons, and a politische Karte shows the borders of states.[4][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 714
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 f g h i j k Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
  6. ^ Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2007), 4th ed., Duden vol. 7, Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  7. ^ a b Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 13, 1979
  8. ^ Duden. Das Fremdwörterbuch (2007), 9th ed., Duden vol. 5, Mannheim: Dudenverlag