tun German · revision 34833

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=8th century, Old High German|origins=ine-pro *dʰeh₁-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /tuːn/, [tuːn]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''tun''' (irregular, third-person singular present tut, past tense tat, past participle getan, past subjunctive täte, auxiliary haben)^(Wiktionary)

+ The Middle High German past singular was ''tete'', whence Early New High German and archaising ''tet'', ''tät''.^(Paul 2002) The spelling ''thun'' was usual until the 20th century; the Grimms' dictionary still enters the verb under it.^(DWB|22, 1772)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|tuon]], [[inh|goh|tuon]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*dōn]], a verb found only in West Germanic: [[osx|dōn]], [[ang|dōn]] and [[ofs|duā]], and today [[nl|doen]] and [[en|do]].^(Kluge 2011|935)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary) Wiktionary reconstructs [[gem-pro|*dōną]]; in North and East Germanic the verb itself is not recorded, but its derivatives [[non|dáð|t=deed]] and Gothic [[m|got|𐌲𐌰𐌳𐌴𐌸𐍃|tr=gadēþs|t=deed]] show that it existed there.^(Wiktionary)^(Pfeifer 1993) Kluge thinks that the past tense forms of the weak verbs were partly formed with this verb, so that the reduplicated plural forms of the Gothic weak past tense tell something about its old forms.^(Kluge 2011|935)

+

+ It goes back to the root [[ine-pro|*dʰeh₁-|t=to put, set, place]], probably in a form with a different vowel grade, and is related to [[hit|dai-|t=to put, place]], [[sa|दधाति|tr=dádhāti|t=puts, places]], [[grc|τίθημι|tr=títhēmi|t=I put, I do]], [[la|condō|t=to found]] and, extended with /k/, [[m|la|faciō|t=to do, make]], [[lt|dėti|t=to put]] and [[cu|дѣти|tr=děti|t=to put, place]].^(Kluge 2011|935)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|880) Wiktionary explains the Germanic present from an aorist form [[ine-pro|*dʰéh₁t]], whose o-grade is unexpected.^(Wiktionary) Also from this root are [[Tat]] and [[-tum]], and, through Greek, [[Thema]], [[These]] and [[Theke]].^(Duden 7 2020|880)^(Kluge 2011|935)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''tuon'' is recorded from the 8th century and is one of the most frequent verbs of the language, meaning “to do, make, act, work, bring about, create, perform, carry out”.^(Kluge 2011|935)^(Köbler AHD)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ According to Paul the verb first meant “to put something in a place”, a sense still alive in ''etwas in den Schrank tun'' and in the compounds [[zutun]], [[abtun]] and [[antun]].^(Paul 2002) Luther still used reflexive ''sich tun'' with a direction (''so du aber dich beizeiten zu Gott tust''), and [[zusammentun]] continues this use.^(Paul 2002) In the sense “to do” it meets [[machen]]: ''machen'' looks to a result, ''tun'' to the activity itself.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ The adjective [[tunlich]] “advisable” is recorded in the 16th century, and [[betulich]] “fussy” in the 18th, from the now obsolete ''sich betun'' “to busy oneself”.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|880) In colloquial speech ''tun'' is used as an auxiliary: before a fronted infinitive for emphasis (''Singen tut sie gern''), which is accepted in writing, and before an infinitive as a filler, which is frowned upon; in the south the past subjunctive ''täte'' replaces ''würde''.^(Wiktionary)^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 8th century – Old High German ''tuon'' is recorded.^(Kluge 2011|935)

+ * 8th century – ''bituon'' “to shut” is recorded.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 16th century – ''tunlich'' appears.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 18th century – ''betulich'' appears.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 19th century – The Grimms' dictionary enters the verb as ''thun''.^(DWB|22, 1772)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|do]], to carry out an action: ''Was tust du da?''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To do something good or bad to someone: ''Der Hund tut dir nichts.''^(Wiktionary)^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # To take up the action of a verb used just before: ''Er wollte anrufen, und das tat er auch.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' To [[m|en|put]], to place: ''Zucker in den Tee tun''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To [[m|en|pretend]], to act as if: ''so tun, als ob''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(regional, colloquial)'' To work, to function: ''Die Uhr tut nicht mehr.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(reflexive)'' To happen, to be going on: ''Hier tut sich etwas.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(auxiliary, colloquial)'' Used with an infinitive for emphasis or, in the south, to form the conditional.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[abtun]]

+ * [[antun]]

+ * [[auftun]]

+ * [[vertun]]

+ * [[zutun]]

+ * [[Zutun]]

+ * [[Getue]]

+ * [[Tunichtgut]]

+ * [[tunlich]]

+ * [[betulich]]

+ * [[guttun]]

+ * [[wehtun]]

+ * [[leidtun]]

+ * [[genugtun]]

+ * [[zusammentun]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Tat]]

+ * [[-tum]]

+ * [[Thema]]

+ * [[Theke]]

+ * [[en|do]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Tun und Lassen'' is someone's whole conduct, and ''Tun und Treiben'' what someone is up to.^(Duden GWDS 1999) ''Es mit jemandem zu tun bekommen'' and ''etwas mit etwas zu tun haben'' are frequent phrases.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}