zugleich

Forms

zugleich^[1]

Etymology

It is a compound of zu and gleich.^[1][2] The Grimms' dictionary takes it as a short form of a phrase with a noun, such as Middle High German ze glîcher wîs (“in the same way”), modelled on phrases like ze mâze and ze rehte.^[3] Paul finds the relation of the parts unclear and suggests zuerst and zuletzt as models, which the Grimms reject because of the meaning.^[4][3] The Grimms also ask whether Luther took it from his dialect, where it may have followed Middle Low German to lîke.^[3] It replaced gelîche and algelîche.^[3] Compare Dutch tegelijk (“at the same time”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word came into use only in Luther's time: Dürer has it in 1525 in the sense “in the same way”, a Strasbourg letter of 1525 uses zuoglich, and Luther's Bible has betet zugleich auch für uns (Colossians 4:3).^[3][4] The Grimms assume it is much older than these records.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Its first meaning was “in the same manner, alike”, which is how the 16th-century dictionaries of Frisius and Maaler translate it (pariter, mutuo).^[3] The sense “at the same time”, felt today as the main one, is also recorded early, but the dictionaries give it much later, Hulsius in 1618 and Stieler in 1691.^[3] Adelung explained it as an elliptical expression for zu gleicher Zeit and gave both the temporal sense and the sense “equally, also”.^[5] 17th-century poets sometimes wrote zugleiche for the metre.^[3]

Timeline

• 1525 – Dürer uses zgleych “in the same way”.^[3]
• 1525 – zuoglich in the political correspondence of Strasbourg.^[3]
• 16th century – Luther's Bible uses zugleich (Colossians 4:3, 1 Thessalonians 5:10).^[3][4]
• 1618 – Hulsius's dictionary gives the sense “at the same time”.^[3]

Meanings

Adverb

1. At the same time, simultaneously: Beide riefen zugleich.^[6][1]
2. Equally, also, as well: Er ist Arzt und zugleich Musiker.^[6][2]

Related words

• gleich
• sogleich
• zu

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 32, 430
4. ^ a b c Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
5. ^ Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf
6. ^ a b Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag