Etymologically
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staatlich

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Forms

staatlich (strong nominative masculine singular staatlicher, not comparable)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from German Staat + -lich.[2][3][1] The noun Staat was taken in the 14th century from Latin status (“standing, position, condition”), a noun of stō (“to stand”).[2][3] At first it meant rank and condition, including the state of one's means, which led to “pomp, display”; its political sense was formed in the 17th century after French état and Italian stato, which have the same origin.[2][3][4] The same noun is Dutch staat and English state.[2] The adjective is close to stattlich, with which it long shared a spelling.[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Grimms' dictionary finds the adjective in isolated early New High German use: a vocabulary of 1509 gives staatlicher for Latin politicus.[6][3] It became common only much later.[6]

Semantic evolution

In the 18th century the word also meant “splendid, magnificent”, a sense that belonged to the older meaning of Staat as display;[3][5] Adelung (1793) sends the reader from staatlich to stattlich as the usual pronunciation and spelling.[3][5] The modern sense “concerning the state, coming from it” dates from the early 19th century, when Campe records it.[3][6] The Grimms' dictionary quotes Bismarck on interference with the staatliche Ordnung and C. F. Meyer on the staatliche Unabhängigkeit of a small country, and contrasts städtische and staatliche Schulen, schools run by a town and by the state.[6] The verb verstaatlichen “to nationalise” followed in the second half of the 19th century.[3][4]

Timeline

  • 1509 – A vocabulary glosses Latin politicus with staatlicher.[6]
  • 18th century – staatlich is used in the sense “splendid”.[3]
  • 1793 – Adelung refers staatlich to stattlich.[5]
  • Early 19th century – The sense “relating to the state” becomes current;[3][6] Campe records it.[3][6]
  • Second half of the 19th century – verstaatlichen “to nationalise” appears.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Relating to the state or belonging to it: Das Land erlangte 1991 die staatliche Unabhängigkeit.[7][1]
  2. Owned, funded or run by the state; public: Sie arbeitet an einem staatlichen Theater.[7][1]
  3. Representing the state or authorised by it: ein staatlich geprüfter Übersetzer.[7]
  4. Initiated or carried out by the state: Die Firma erhielt staatliche Zuschüsse.[7]

Word family

  • verstaatlichen
  • entstaatlichen
  • Staatlichkeit

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 873
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2007), 4th ed., Duden vol. 7, Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  5. ^ a b c d Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf
  6. ^ 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. 17, 286
  7. ^ a b c d Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag