März German · revision 34868

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=end of the 8th century, Old High German glosses|origins=la Mārs}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /mɛrts/, [mɛʁts], [mɛɐ̯ts]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''März''' ''m'' (genitive (predominant) März or (less common) Märzes, plural Märze)^(Wiktionary)

+ The noun was originally weak; the weak forms survive in compounds such as ''Märzenbier'' and in songs (''Im Märzen der Bauer …'').^(EWA|6, 358)^(Paul 2002) The spelling with ''ä'', after the Latin form, became established only in the 18th century, replacing ''Merz''.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(EWA|6, 358) Adelung notes that ''des Märzen'' and ''im Märzen'' were heard in some regions.^(Adelung 1793|3, 89)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|merze]], [[inh|goh|merzo]], [[bor|la|Mārtius|t=(month) of Mars]], the month dedicated to the war god [[m|la|Mārs]], which was the first month of the Roman year.^(Kluge 2011|604)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(EWA|6, 358) Old High German also has [[m|goh|marceo]], in the Abrogans, which keeps the unumlauted vowel and the Latin ⟨iu⟩; the other records already show the umlaut and the loss of the /j/.^(EWA|6, 358) The word appears in [[gml|merte]] and [[dum|maerte]], and the same Latin name gave [[nl|maart]], [[en|March]], [[fr|mars]] and [[sv|mars]].^(Kluge 2011|604)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''marceo'' and ''merzo'' are recorded from the end of the 8th century, in the Abrogans and other glosses, translating Latin ''Martius''.^(Köbler AHD)^(EWA|6, 358) A gloss explains ''Martius'' as ''merze uel lenzimanot'', giving beside the Latin name the native ''Lenzmonat'' “spring month”.^(AWB)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Charlemagne named the month ''Lenzmonat'', and Adelung notes around 1800 that this name was still occasionally used, though it had not displaced the Roman one.^(Adelung 1793|3, 89)^(AWB) In the 18th century the Latin ''Martius'' was still used beside the German name.^(DWB|12, 1690) ''Märzenbier'', Middle High German ''merzbier'', is beer brewed in March.^(Paul 2002)^(Lexer 1872)

+

+ The March of 1848 became the name of the German revolution of that year, hence ''Märzrevolution''; [[Vormärz]], first a general term for the time before it, came to name a literary period from the end of the 19th century.^(Paul 2002) The German name was borrowed into Estonian as ''märts'' and into Luxembourgish and Hebrew.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * End of the 8th century – Old High German ''marceo'' and ''merzo'' appear in glosses.^(Köbler AHD)^(EWA|6, 358)

+ * 18th century – The spelling ''März'' replaces ''Merz''.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(EWA|6, 358)

+ * 1848 – The month gives its name to the March revolution.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1863 – Daniel Sanders uses ''Vor-März'' as a term for the period before 1848.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''March'', the third month of the year.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Märzenbier]]

+ * [[Vormärz]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[la|Mārtius]]

+ * [[en|March]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The verb [[ausmerzen]] “to weed out”, originally used of sheep unfit for breeding, has been connected with ''März'', since flocks were culled in spring;^(Kluge 2011|76)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|118) Kluge and the Duden consider that this connection may be secondary, and Pfeifer prefers other explanations.^(Kluge 2011|76)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|118)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}