German words first recorded in the 12th century

It is inherited from Middle High German dâher, formed from da and her, recorded since Middle High German and at first often written separately. The same formation is Middle Low German dārhēr and the…

It is inherited from Middle High German anebieten, formed from German an- + bieten. The same formation is Old Saxon anbiodan, Middle Low German anbēden, Old English onbēodan and Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌰𐌱𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰𐌽…

It is inherited from Middle High German enthalten, formed from Middle High German ent- + halten. Old High German has no example. The same formation is Middle Low German enthōlden and Dutch…

It is inherited from Middle High German algemeine (“all together, altogether”), beside Middle Low German algemêine and almêine. The word is from German all + gemein: the first part strengthens the…

It is inherited from Middle High German art (“descent; innate nature; manner”), first recorded in the 12th century, beside Middle Low German art. Kluge notes that the word may be inherited, but that…

It is inherited from Middle High German bekant, originally a past participle: the verb is bekennen (“to know, recognize”), now bekennen. The participle became an adjective because the verb lost its…

It is inherited from Middle High German bewīsen, a prefix derivation from German be- + weisen, with Middle Low German bewīsen and Dutch bewijzen beside it. It was a weak verb in Middle High German…

It is inherited from Middle High German betragen, from German be- + tragen. Kluge calls the development of its meanings unclear on the whole. The sense used of sums and measures comes from the…

It is inherited from Middle High German bizher, formed from bis and her. The same formation is Middle Low German bethēr. The first part, biz, is probably a fusion of bī (“by”) and ze (“to”) (now bei…

It is inherited from Middle High German dūren (also tūren), borrowed from Middle Low German dūren, from Latin dūrō (“to harden; to last, endure”), from dūrus (“hard”). The Latin verb was taken first…

It is inherited from Middle High German endelich, formed from German Ende + -lich. The same formation is Middle Low German endelik, Middle Dutch endelijc and Dutch eindelijk. Middle High German…

It is inherited from Middle High German verendern (also verandern), a prefix derivation from German ver- + ändern that is not recorded in Old High German. The prefix hardly changed the meaning, so…

It is inherited from Middle High German versuochen (“to try to find out, test”), formed from German ver- + suchen. The prefix gives the verb a frequentative force, especially with an object. The…

It is inherited from Middle High German alein, a fusion of al (“all, wholly”), used as an intensifier, with eine (“alone, only”), the numeral ein, which by itself already meant “alone”. In Old High…

It is inherited from Middle High German behandeln (“to touch with the hand”), formed from German be- + handeln. The same formation is Middle Low German behandelen and Dutch behandelen. handeln is…

It is inherited from Middle High German gelücke (“fate, chance”), first recorded in the early courtly poetry of about 1160. The word spread over the German-speaking area from the Rhine and the…

It is inherited from Middle High German ūfnëmen, formed from German auf- + nehmen. Wiktionary reconstructs Old High German *ūfnëman and Proto-West Germanic *uppneman before it; the same formation is…

It is inherited from Middle High German volge, a noun formed from the verb Middle High German volgen, Old High German folgēn, Proto-West Germanic *folgēn (see folgen). In Old High German it is found…

It is inherited from Middle High German kündigen (“to make known, proclaim”), formed from kündec (“known; knowing”) (modern kundig). The base is the adjective kund (“known”), kunt, Old High German…

It is inherited from Middle High German prīs, borrowed from Old French pris (“praise, glory, reward, value, price”), from Latin pretium (“value, money, price, reward”). Kluge names French prix as…

It is inherited from Middle High German bestimmen (“to name; to fix”), formed from German be- + stimmen in the old sense of that verb, “to name, to fix”. It first meant “to choose or fix by one's…

It is inherited from Middle High German bezaln, from German be- + zahlen. The same formation is Middle Low German betālen, Middle Dutch betalen (now Dutch betalen) and Old Frisian bitalia, and…

It is inherited from Middle High German anlāz, also anelāz, which first named the place where a race is started, from an and the verb lassen “to let go”, as in loslassen. The verb is Old High German…

It is inherited from Middle High German beschrīben (“to write down, record, depict”), formed with be- from schreiben. The same verb is Dutch beschrijven. Old High German scrīban and its Germanic…

It is inherited from Middle High German vælen, borrowed from Old French faillir (“to miss, err”). Kluge dates the borrowing to the 13th century, but the Grimms' revised dictionary has a record from…

It is inherited from Middle High German bediutunge (“interpretation”), formed from German bedeuten + -ung. That verb is Old High German bithiuten (“to mean, signify”) (11th century), Middle High…

It is inherited from Middle High German forme, borrowed from Latin fōrma (“shape, figure, appearance”), borrowed in the 13th century. The revised Grimm dictionary takes the Upper German masculine…

It is inherited from Middle High German allerdinge (“in all things, entirely”), written together from aller dinge, the genitive plural of al (“all”) and dinc (“thing”) used as an adverb. Old High…

It is inherited from Middle High German anetreten (“to begin; fall due”), a compound of the particle an and the verb meaning “to tread”. That verb is Old High German tretan, from Proto-West Germanic…

It is inherited from Middle High German bestætigen (“to make firm, confirm”), formed with the prefix be- from the adjective stætec (“firm, constant”), today's stetig. Kluge allows that it may…

It is inherited from Middle High German burgermeister, a compound from Middle High German burger (“citizen”) + meister (“master”): the head of a town as the “leader of the citizens”, with the older…

It is inherited from Middle High German december, borrowed from Latin December (“the tenth month”), short for mēnsis December. The Latin name is derived from decem (“ten”), but its formation is…

It is inherited from Middle High German dienstac, borrowed from Middle Low German dingesdach, a Low German and Lower Rhenish name that spread into High German. The same Lower Rhenish word is Middle…

It is borrowed from Middle Low German echt (“lawful, genuine”), taken over from Low German, contracted from ēhacht, earlier ēhaft (“legally valid, lawful, born in wedlock”), a derivative of ē (“law…

It is inherited from Middle High German erleben (“to live through, survive, experience”), from German er- + leben. The base verb leben is Old High German lebēn, from a Germanic verb also found in…

It is inherited from Middle High German erziln, formed with the prefix er- from zielen. The base verb is Middle High German zilen, Old High German zilēn (“to strive, hasten”), beside the noun Ziel…

It is inherited from Middle High German fest (also feminine feste), borrowed from Latin fēstum (“feast day”), borrowed in the 13th century. The Latin noun is the neuter of fēstus (“festive, devoted…

It is inherited from Middle High German gebiet (also gebiete), formed from the verb gebieten “to command”, which is itself bieten with the prefix ge-. The same noun is Middle Low German gebede…

It is inherited from Middle High German gelegenheit (“situation, the way something lies”), an abstract noun formed from German gelegen + -heit. The adjective gelegen is properly the past participle…

It is inherited from Middle High German genou (“narrow, tight; careful”), from Middle High German ge- + nou (“narrow, tight, careful”), an adjective originally of Middle German. The base adjective…

1. The verb meaning “to cost” is inherited from Middle High German kosten, borrowed from Old French coster (“to cost”) (now French coûter). Pfeifer dates the borrowing to about 1200, on the Middle…

It is the plural form, inherited from Middle High German koste (“value, price, expense”), inherited from Old High German kosta (“value”), borrowed from Medieval Latin costa (“expense”). Medieval…

It is inherited from Middle High German manschaft, a derivative from German Mann + -schaft. Wiktionary reconstructs the formation as Proto-West Germanic *mannskapi (“humanness, humanity”) and…

It is inherited from Middle High German müglich, also mügelich, formed from German mögen + -lich in the old sense of the verb, “to be able”. Kluge compares the way the phrases for “it can be” and…

It is inherited from Middle High German mügelicheit, formed from German möglich + -keit. The adjective möglich, Middle High German mügelich, is recorded from the 13th century and is formed from…

It is inherited from Middle High German nihtes, the genitive of niht (“nothing; not”), the ancestor of nicht. Paul and the Duden derive it from the reinforced Middle High German phrase nihtes niht…

It is inherited from Middle High German passen (“to reach one's goal”), borrowed from Middle Dutch passen, from Old French passer (“to go from one place to another, cross, pass”): the verb reached…

It is inherited from Middle High German swach (“bad, low, worthless; feeble”), inherited from Proto-West Germanic *swak. Old High German has no record of it; Köbler sets up an unattested Old High…

It is a back-formation of Early New High German from stellen (“to put, place”), originally “the place where something stands”, and replaced Middle High German stal (“place, standing”) in this sense…

1. The fool is inherited from Middle High German tōre, a noun formed from an adjective that has not survived on its own. The same word is Middle Low German dore and Middle Dutch door (“fool”)…

It is inherited from Middle High German überziugen (“to testify against; to convict by witnesses”), formed from Middle High German über- + ziugen (“to testify”). The base verb is a derivative of the…

It is inherited from Middle High German überec, a derivative from Middle High German über + -ec, first in the sense “going beyond the measure”, then “left over as a remainder”; it is recorded from…

It is inherited from Middle High German zentrum, borrowed from Latin centrum (“centre of a circle”), from Ancient Greek κέντρον (kéntron, “goad, sting; point of a compass; centre”), from κεντέω…