als German · revision 34784

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=11th century|origins=goh alsō}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /als/, [al(t)s]^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Forms==

+ '''als'''^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|als]], a weakened form of one syllable from [[m|gmh|alse]], [[inh|goh|alsō|t=just so]]; the full form survives as [[also]].^(Kluge 2011|35)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2007) The Old High German word is [[m|goh|sō|t=so]] strengthened by [[m|goh|al|t=all]], and so first meant “quite so”.^(Duden 7 2007)^(Wiktionary) English [[m|en|as]] and Dutch [[m|nl|als]] were shortened from the corresponding words in the same way.^(Kluge 2011|35)

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+ According to Pfeifer, the shortened forms with and without the final vowel are found already in Old and Middle High German, the one-syllable form at first only before a vowel.^(Pfeifer 1993) The revised Grimm finds the reduction to one syllable only occasionally in late Old High German and widely only in Middle High German; from the 14th century the /l/ was sometimes lost in Upper and Central German, and forms without it prevailed in the Low German and Swabian-Alemannic dialects.^(DWB2|2, 544)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Kluge dates the word to the 11th century.^(Kluge 2011|35) Old High German ''alsō'' and its short forms ''als'' and ''alse'' meant “so, just so, likewise, as, as if, because” and are found in Notker, Williram and other texts.^(Schützeichel 2012|33)^(Pfeifer 1993)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ While ''also'' kept its pointing, demonstrative function, ''als'' took on the work of joining clauses and lost its demonstrative sense in the written language as early as Early New High German; remnants are [[alsbald]] and [[alsdann]].^(DWB2|2, 544)^(Paul 2002) Joining ''als'' at first did the work of modern ''wie'' “as, like”, until the early 19th century, as in Luther's ''weiß als Schnee'' “white as snow”, though ''wie'' already competed with it in Luther's time.^(Paul 2002) In the 18th century ''als wie'' was often combined, as in Goethe's ''Und bin so klug als wie zuvor'' “and am as wise as before”.^(Paul 2002)

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+ In the present language ''wie'' marks equality and ''als'' inequality after a comparative (''älter als er'' “older than he”).^(DWB2|2, 544)^(Duden GWDS 1999) The chancery style long kept ''als'' at the head of a main clause after a clause of reason, and Schiller imitated it.^(Paul 2002)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * 11th century – ''Als'' is first recorded.^(Kluge 2011|35)

+ * 14th century – Forms without /l/ appear in Upper and Central German.^(DWB2|2, 544)

+ * 16th century – Luther still uses ''als'' where modern German has ''wie'', but ''wie'' already competes with it.^(Paul 2002)

+ * Early 19th century – ''Als'' gives up the sense “as, like” to ''wie''.^(Paul 2002)

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+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Conjunction===

+ # When, as; introducing a clause of time, mostly of a single event in the past: ''als wir das Haus erreicht hatten, fing es an zu regnen'' “when we had reached the house, it began to rain”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Than; after a [[m|en|comparative]]: ''ich bin älter als er'' “I am older than he”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # But, other than; after ''anders'', ''nichts'', ''kein'' and the like: ''nichts als Unfug'' “nothing but nonsense”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # As if; with ''ob'' or ''wenn'', or with the verb placed first: ''als ob ich schon Stunden gewartet hätte'' “as if I had been waiting for hours”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # As; in fixed comparisons of equality: ''so schnell als möglich'' “as fast as possible”, ''sowohl … als auch'' “both … and”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # As, in the [[m|en|capacity]] of: introducing the role or form of something.^(Wiktionary)^(Wiktionary DE)

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+ ==Word family==

+ * [[alsbald]]

+ * [[alsdann]]

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[also]]

+ * [[all]]

+ * [[so]]

+ * [[en|as]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ In western and Central German regional speech an adverb ''als'' means “again and again, always”; it comes from Middle High German ''allez'', the neuter of [[all]], and is recorded from the 13th century.^(Kluge 2011|35) The Grimms record ''als'' as a short form of ''alles'', frequent in the 16th and 17th centuries, together with this adverbial use.^(DWB|1, 246) Combinations such as ''als wie'' after a comparative are colloquial.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}