ihn German · revision 34840

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=8th century|origins=ine-pro *im}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /iːn/^(Wiktionary)

+ * Colloquial: /ən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''ihn''' (accusative singular masculine of [[er]])^(Wiktionary)

+ Middle High German had ''inen'' beside the usual ''in''.^(DWB|10, 2048) In the 16th century the word was still written ''in'' or ''jn''.^(DWB|10, 2048) Early New High German also had ''ihne'' and ''ihnen'' beside the lengthened ''ihn''.^(DWB|10, 2048)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|in]], [[inh|goh|inan]], the accusative of the pronoun [[er]].^(Kluge 2011|438)^(DWB|10, 2048) The same form is [[osx|ina]] and [[got|𐌹𐌽𐌰|tr=ina]], while Old Norse, Old English and Old Frisian use forms that begin with /h/.^(Kluge 2011|438)^(DWB|10, 2048)

+

+ Kluge derives it from the accusative [[ine-pro|*im]], which became /in/ and was then extended by various particles: in Gothic by /-ō/, in German by an ending that was remodelled after the accusative ending of the adjective.^(Kluge 2011|438) The pronominal stem is [[ine-pro|*ei-]], also found in [[la|is|t=he, that one]] and [[lt|jìs|t=he]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(EWA|2, 1092) The Old High German form [[m|goh|inan]] doubles the accusative suffix, according to the Grimms.^(DWB|10, 2048)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The accusative of [[er]] is recorded from the 8th century.^(Kluge 2011|438) In Old High German it is ''inan'' and ''in'', the shorter form being used in the Muspilli, in Otfrid as an enclitic, and often in the Tatian; it became the usual form from the 11th century, in Notker.^(EWA|2, 1092)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Middle High German ''in'' was lengthened to ''ihn'', with the ⟨h⟩ marking the long vowel.^(DWB|10, 2048) The fuller forms ''ihne'' and ''ihnen'' (for ''ihn'') survived for some time in older texts, and the Grimms note a popular ''ihnen'' used emphatically for ''ihn'' in an 1866 newspaper.^(DWB|10, 2048) An unstressed form ''-n'' is attached to the preceding word in speech, as in ''hab ichn'' in Matthias Claudius.^(DWB|10, 2048)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 8th century – The accusative of ''er'' is recorded in Old High German.^(Kluge 2011|438)

+ * 11th century – The short form ''in'' becomes the usual one.^(EWA|2, 1092)

+ * 16th century – The word is still written ''in'' or ''jn''.^(DWB|10, 2048)

+ * 1866 – Emphatic popular ''ihnen'' for ''ihn'' is recorded in a newspaper from Halle.^(DWB|10, 2048)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # [[m|en|him]]: the accusative of [[er]], referring to a male person: ''Ich habe ihn gestern gesehen.''^(Wiktionary)

+ # [[m|en|it]]: the accusative of ''er'', referring to a thing denoted by a masculine noun: ''Der Schlüssel? Ich habe ihn verloren.''^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(obsolete)'' [[m|en|them]], used for the dative plural ''ihnen''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[er]]

+ * [[ihm]]

+ * [[seiner]]

+ * [[ihr]]

+ * [[es]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In colloquial speech the word is often reduced to /ən/ or attached to the preceding word.^(Wiktionary)^(DWB|10, 2048)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}