wesentlich

Forms

wesentlich (strong nominative masculine singular wesentlicher, comparative wesentlicher, superlative am wesentlichsten)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German wesenlich, inherited from Old High German wesantlīh (“being, substantial”), an adjective formed with -līh beside Old High German wesan (“being, existence”), the infinitive of the verb “to be, stay” used as a noun.^[2][3][4] Wiktionary describes it as a calque of Latin essentiālis (“essential”).^[1] The noun survives as Wesen; the verb is Proto-Germanic *wesaną, also found in Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐍃𐌰𐌽 (wisan, “to be, remain”), Old English wesan and Old Norse vesa, and is a form of the verb sein.^[3][5] It goes back to Proto-Indo-European *u̯es- (“to stay, dwell, spend the night”), which is also in Sanskrit वसति (vásati, “dwells, stays”) and in the name of the Roman goddess Latin Vesta.^[3][5][6]

The ⟨t⟩ before the suffix has been explained in two ways.^[2][3] Kluge sees a glide inserted from the 15th century on,^[2] whereas Pfeifer and the Grimms' dictionary take it from the Old High German present participle wesant-, since it already appears in the Old High German adverb wesantlīhho (“essentially”).^[3][4] In Middle High German the forms without ⟨t⟩ prevailed; the form with ⟨t⟩ became general around 1600, like eigentlich, ordentlich and namentlich.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German wesantlīh “being, substantial” is recorded in the 9th century, and the adverb wesantlīhho “essentially” in glosses of about 1000.^[3][4] In Old and Middle High German the word occurs only in religious texts, mainly those of the mystics: Meister Eckhart and Tauler wrote wesenlich, Seuse weslich.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The adjective first belonged to theology and mysticism, meaning “of the essence, real, substantial”, in step with the senses of the noun Wesen “essence, substance”.^[4] Middle High German also used it for “real, lasting” and “domestic”, and Early New High German for “resident, settled” and “in good condition”, senses tied to Wesen “dwelling, household”.^[3] General use began only in the course of the 15th century.^[4] From then on the main sense became “essential, fundamental, principal”.^[4][3]

With comparatives and verbs wesentlich became an intensifier “considerably, much”, and the noun use im Wesentlichen means “on the whole” or “mainly”.^[7] The form weslich lasted until the first third of the 16th century and is found once more in Harsdörffer in 1641.^[4]

Timeline

• 9th century – Old High German wesantlīh is first recorded.^[2][3]
• c. 1000 – The adverb wesantlīhho appears in glosses.^[3]
• 14th century – The mystics use wesenlich and weslich.^[4]
• 15th century – The word passes into general use; the form with ⟨t⟩ spreads.^[2][4]
• c. 1600 – wesentlich prevails over wesenlich.^[4]
• 1641 – One of the last records of weslich, in Harsdörffer.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Essential, fundamental, of decisive importance: Das ist ein wesentlicher Punkt. Im Wesentlichen means “on the whole” or “mainly”.^[7][1]
2. Concerning the essence or true nature of something.^[1][8]
3. (with comparatives and verbs) Considerably, much: Der neue Zug ist wesentlich schneller.^[7][8]

Word family

• Wesentlichkeit
• unwesentlich

Related words

• Wesen
• abwesend
• Anwesen
• Verweser
• währen
• Old High German wesan

Usage notes

The Grimms' dictionary separates a regional adjective weszlich, wäselich “lively, cheerful”, of unknown origin, which in some dialects merged with wesentlich.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 984
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 f g h i j k l m n Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 29, 592
5. ^ a b Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2007), 4th ed., Duden vol. 7, Mannheim: Dudenverlag
6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
7. ^ a b c Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
8. ^ a b Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org