veranstalten

Forms

veranstalten (third-person singular present veranstaltet, past tense veranstaltete, past participle veranstaltet, auxiliary haben)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from German ver- + Anstalt + -en.^[1][2][3] The base noun Anstalt, Middle High German anstalt (15th century), was formed on the pattern of the older abstract nouns with a t-suffix, from stellen; like anstellen “to arrange, set up”, it meant “arrangement, preparation”, as in the phrase Anstalten treffen (“to make preparations”), and later “institution”.^[2][4] The verb arose in the early 18th century; before that, the prefixed verb from which the noun comes was used.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Grimms' dictionary notes that the verb is missing in the older language and first found in Frisch's dictionary, as veranstallten;^[6] Paul dates this to 1741, in the sense “to put into effect”.^[7] The Grimms quote it from the novel Felsenburg: fieng dero wegen an, alles aufs eiligste darzu zu veranstalten (therefore began to prepare everything for it with the greatest haste).^[6]

Semantic evolution

The verb usually implied laborious preparation.^[6] Adelung's examples are a feast, an inquiry and a ceremony, with the noun Veranstaltung.^[3][7] Wieland compares someone to Nero watching the fire of Rome that he had himself veranstaltet, and Goethe uses it of balls and of a concert.^[6] Campe's dictionary of 1807 was veranstaltet und herausgegeben, planned and published, by him.^[7] Today it is used above all of public and social events, and colloquially of making a noise or fuss.^[7][8]

Timeline

• 15th century – The base noun Anstalt.^[2]
• 1741 – First recorded, in Frisch's dictionary.^[7][6]
• 1793 – Adelung gives the verb and Veranstaltung.^[3]
• 1807 – Campe's dictionary is veranstaltet und herausgegeben by him.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To organize, hold or stage an event: Der Verein veranstaltet jedes Jahr ein Sommerfest.^[8][1]
2. (colloquial) To make, put on (a noise, a fuss): Die Kinder veranstalteten ein großes Geschrei.^[8]

Word family

• Veranstaltung
• Veranstalter

Related words

• Anstalt
• anstellen
• stellen

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 48
3. ^ a b c Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf
4. ^ Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
5. ^ Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
6. ^ a b c d e Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 25, 78
7. ^ a b c d e f Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
8. ^ a b c Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag