führen German · revision 34804

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 765, Old High German glosses|origins=ine-pro *per-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈfyːʁən/, [ˈfyːʁən], [ˈfyːɐn]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''führen''' (third-person singular present führt, past tense führte, past participle geführt, auxiliary haben)^(Wiktionary)

+ Middle High German had the umlauted present ''vüeren'', caused by the old /j/ of the suffix, beside the past ''vuorte'' without umlaut.^(DWB|4, 431)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|vüeren]], [[inh|goh|fuoren]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*fōrijan]], [[inh|gem-pro|*fōrijaną|t=to cause to go, lead]], the causative of [[gem-pro|*faraną|t=to go, travel]], the source of [[fahren]].^(Kluge 2011|322)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary) It has the lengthened-grade vowel /ō/ beside the /a/ of the base verb, and so first meant “to make go, set in motion”, then “to bring” and “to lead”.^(Kluge 2011|322)^(Duden 7 2014)^(Duden GWDS 1999) The same verb is [[osx|fōrian]], [[ofs|fēra]], [[ang|fēran]] and [[non|fœra]], and today [[nl|voeren]], [[sv|föra]] and [[is|færa]].^(Kluge 2011|322)^(Pfeifer 1993) No Gothic form is recorded, and English has lost the word.^(DWB|4, 431)

+

+ Kluge compares the similar pair [[sa|पारयति|tr=pāráyati|t=takes across]] beside [[m|sa|पिपर्ति|tr=píparti|t=brings over]], from [[ine-pro|*per-]], but does not rule out that two roots of the same shape are involved, one meaning “to travel” and one “to pass through, bring across”.^(Kluge 2011|322)^(Köbler AHD)

+

+ The Grimms' revised dictionary notes that the modern verb also absorbed a second Old High German verb [[m|goh|fuorōn]] of unclear origin, perhaps from the noun [[m|goh|fuora]], which meant “to feed, provide for” and lived on in Upper German until the 16th century.^(DWB2|9, 1206)^(DWB|4, 459)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''fuoren'' is first recorded in glosses of about 765, and then in the Hildebrandslied, Tatian, Otfrid, Notker and Williram.^(Köbler AHD)^(Schützeichel 2012|117) It meant “to bring, carry, transport”, “to lead, conduct” and “to bear with oneself”, and with ''in muate'' “to intend”.^(EWA|3, 639)^(Schützeichel 2012|117)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Middle High German ''vüeren'' meant “to set in motion, drive, carry away”, “to lead, bring”, “to carry out” and “to possess”.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Lexer 1872|3, 557) Wahrig notes that “to lead, direct”, the main sense today, belongs to New High German.^(Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch) The old sense “to transport by vehicle” was still current around 1800, when Adelung explains that merchants were said to ''führen'' the goods they dealt in because wandering traders used to carry them around.^(Adelung 1793) The Grimms' revised dictionary finds this transport sense dying out from the 19th century.^(DWB2|9, 1206)

+

+ In sport ''führen'' has meant “to be in first place” since the second half of the 19th century.^(Paul 2002) From there it spread to leading positions in science, trade and industry (''ein führendes Unternehmen'').^(Paul 2002) Among the derivatives, [[Führer]] goes back to Old High German ''fuorāri'' “porter” of the 8th century, and [[Führung]] is recorded from the 15th century.^(Pfeifer 1993) [[aufführen]] first meant “to raise” a building, then in the 17th century “to lead forward in a procession” and in the 18th “to perform on the stage”.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2014) [[Anführungszeichen]] “quotation marks” (18th century) is a loan translation of Latin ''signum citationis''.^(Duden 7 2014)^(Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 765 – Old High German ''fuoren'' appears in glosses.^(Köbler AHD)

+ * 8th century – ''fuorāri'' “porter”, the ancestor of ''Führer'', is recorded.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 15th century – ''Führung'' appears.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 17th century – ''aufführen'' means “to lead forward in a procession”.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 18th century – ''aufführen'' is used of theatre performances, and ''Anführungszeichen'' is formed.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2014)

+ * 2nd half of the 19th century – The sports sense “to be in the lead” appears.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|lead]] or [[m|en|guide]] someone, going along and showing the way: ''eine alte Dame über die Kreuzung führen''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To take someone to a place: ''Er führte seine Mutter in ein Restaurant.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # To be in charge of, [[m|en|manage]]: a business, a household, a team.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(reflexive)'' To behave, conduct oneself over a period, as judged by others.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To be in the lead, be at the top.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To handle, move in a particular way: a brush, a weapon.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Of a road or path, to go in a direction; to lead to a result: ''Das führt zu nichts.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary DE)

+ # ''(officialese)'' To drive a vehicle;^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary) ''(Austria)'' to transport someone in a vehicle.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To have with one, carry; to stock or sell goods: ''Diese Marke führen wir nicht.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To bear as a mark or title: a name, a coat of arms.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # To conduct, hold: a conversation, negotiations, a war.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To keep a record: a diary, a list, accounts.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Führer]]

+ * [[Führung]]

+ * [[abführen]]

+ * [[anführen]]

+ * [[Anführungszeichen]]

+ * [[aufführen]]

+ * [[Aufführung]]

+ * [[ausführen]]

+ * [[durchführen]]

+ * [[einführen]]

+ * [[entführen]]

+ * [[verführen]]

+ * [[vorführen]]

+ * [[überführen]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[fahren]]

+ * [[Fuhre]]

+ * [[Fuder]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}