Etymologically
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täglich

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈtɛːklɪç/, /ˈteːklɪç/[1]

Forms

täglich (strong nominative masculine singular täglicher, not comparable)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German tagelich (also tegelich), inherited from Old High German tagalīh (also tagolīh).[2][3][1] Wiktionary and Pfeifer treat it as from German Tag + -lich,[1][3] but Kluge thinks it is probably not a simple derivative, rather a shortening of the phrase allero tago gihwilīh (“each one of all days”), as in männiglich.[2] Old English had dæġlīċ, and English daily is its English cognate.[4][1]

The noun goes back to Proto-Germanic *dagaz (“day”), also in Gothic 𐌳𐌰𐌲𐍃 (dags), Old Norse dagr and Old English dæg.[2][5] Its further origin is uncertain: Kluge and Duden connect it with Proto-Indo-European *dʰegʷʰ- (“to burn”) (as in Lithuanian dègti and dãgas (“summer heat”)), which would make the day the hot, bright part of the 24 hours, while Pfeifer prefers to compare a Sanskrit word for “day”, with the initial dental perhaps taken from the “burning” word.[2][6][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German tagalīh is first recorded in glosses of about 765, and then in the Benedictine Rule, the Tatian, Otfrid and Notker, meaning “daily”.[7][8]

Semantic evolution

Middle High German used it of what happens every day, as in Hartmann's Iwein (mit tägelîcher arbeit, “with daily toil”), and of a fever that returns every day;[9] tägliche Sünden were small sins that no one can avoid, as Berthold of Regensburg preached.[9] From “happening every day” came “ordinary, commonplace”, as opposed to the extraordinary, in Luther and Goethe.[9] A third sense is “meant for everyday use”: the Lord's Prayer asks for unser teglich brot, a chasuble of 1394 was the “daily” one, and a 1631 inventory sets daily napkins against Sunday ones.[9] Early New High German also used it for “by day” and “lasting one day”.[10]

The reinforced tagtäglich “day in, day out” appears in the 18th century according to Kluge, while Pfeifer already cites a Middle High German adverb tactaglich.[2][3] Banking calls money lent from day to day tägliches Geld.[11]

Timeline

  • c. 765 – Old High German tagalīh appears in glosses.[7]
  • 1394 – A “daily” chasuble is recorded, one for everyday use.[9]
  • 1631 – Daily napkins are set against Sunday ones in an inventory.[9]
  • 18th century – Tagtäglich appears.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. daily, happening or recurring every day: der tägliche Weg zur Arbeit;[11][1] unser tägliches Brot, from the Lord's Prayer.[11][1]
  2. (banking) tägliches Geld: call money, lent between banks and repayable on demand.[11]

Adverb

  1. Every day: Sie läuft täglich fünf Kilometer.;[11][1] dreimal täglich, three times a day.[11][1]

Word family

  • tagtäglich
  • alltäglich
  • sonntäglich

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 904
  3. ^ a b c d Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  4. ^ Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf
  5. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  6. ^ Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2007), 4th ed., Duden vol. 7, Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  7. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  8. ^ Schützeichel, Rudolf (2012), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 7th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 328
  9. ^ a b c d e f Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 21, 79
  10. ^ Anderson, Robert R.; Goebel, Ulrich; Reichmann, Oskar, eds. (1989–), Frühneuhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter; FWB-online, fwb-online.de
  11. ^ a b c d e f Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag