solch German · revision 34829

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=765, Old High German glosses|origins=gem-pro *swalīkaz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /zɔlç/, [zɔlç], [zɔʎ̞ç]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Especially, regional, variant: /zɔʏ̯ç/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''solch''' (demonstrative pronoun); inflected ''solcher'', ''solche'', ''solches''; uninflected ''solch'' before an adjective or before ''ein''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ Middle High German had many forms, among them ''solich'', ''solch'', ''sulich'', ''sulch'' and ''sölch''.^(Köbler MHD)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|solich]], [[inh|goh|sulīh]], [[inh|gem-pro|*swalīkaz|t=so shaped, such]].^(Kluge 2011|856)^(Wiktionary)^(Pfeifer 1993) The same compound is [[got|𐍃𐍅𐌰𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃|tr=swaleiks]], [[non|slíkr]], [[ang|swilc]] and [[osx|sulīk]], and today [[nl|zulk]], [[en|such]] and [[sv|slik]].^(Kluge 2011|856)^(Pfeifer 1993) Kluge notes that the Old High German and Old Frisian forms point to a variant with a long vowel in the first part, [[gem-pro|*swǣ-līka-]], while Gothic, Norse and English go back to [[m|gem-pro|*swa-līka-]].^(Kluge 2011|856)

+

+ The first part is the word [[so]]; the second is the noun [[gem-pro|*līką|t=body, shape]], which survives in [[Leiche]] and in the suffix [[-lich]].^(Kluge 2011|856)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|790) The word therefore first meant “having such a shape, so made”, a sense it still has.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|790) [[welch]] is formed in the same way.^(Duden 7 2020|790)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''sulīh'', ''solīh'' is recorded from glosses of 765 on and is frequent in the Isidor, the Tatian, Otfrid and Notker, meaning “such, of that kind, so made”.^(Köbler AHD)^(Kluge 2011|856) Middle High German ''solich'' appears in Eilhart (1170–1190).^(Köbler MHD)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Paul notes that the word was first an adjective, but that in predicative use it was soon replaced by [[so]].^(Paul 2002) Like ''so'', it often refers to degree, as in ''solche Schönheit'' “such beauty”, and stands uninflected before ''ein'': ''solch eine Tat'' beside ''eine solche Tat''.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ Used on its own it is now rare (Luther's ''das sei ferne von mir, solches zu tun''), and ''so etwas'' has taken its place.^(Paul 2002) In the scholarly language of the 19th century ''als solcher'' “as such” became common, as in ''die Philosophie als solche''.^(Paul 2002) The chancery style used ''solcher'' for “the same, it”, which Adelung criticised in 1780 as a fault of common speech, but Schiller still wrote ''wirft ihm solchen verächtlich vor die Füße'' in ''Die Räuber''.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

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

+ * 1170–1190 – Middle High German ''solich'' is used by Eilhart.^(Köbler MHD)

+ * 1780 – Adelung rejects ''solcher'' in the sense “the same, it”.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 19th century – ''als solcher'' “as such” becomes common in scholarly language.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # Of that kind, [[m|en|such]]: ''solche Bücher lese ich gern''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # So great, so strong: ''ich habe solchen Durst''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(standing alone)'' Such a person or thing, referring to something already named;^(Duden GWDS 1999) ''als solcher'': as such, in itself.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(uninflected, formal)'' So, such a: ''solch ein Abend'', ''solch schönes Wetter''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[so]]

+ * [[welch]]

+ * [[Leiche]]

+ * [[-lich]]

+ * [[en|such]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Es gibt solche und solche'', “there are such and such”, means that not all people are equally pleasant or reliable.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}