Spiel German · revision 34878

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=9th century, Old High German glosses|origins=gmw-pro *spil}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ʃpiːl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Spiel''' ''n'' (genitive Spiels or Spieles, plural Spiele, diminutive Spielchen n)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|spil]], [[inh|goh|spil]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*spil|t=dance]].^(Kluge 2011|867)^(Wiktionary)^(Pfeifer 1993) The word is found only in continental West Germanic: [[osx|spil]], [[ofs|spil]], [[gml|spēl]], [[dum|spel]], today [[nl|spel]].^(Kluge 2011|867)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(EWA|8, 765) Pfeifer and the Grimms' dictionary take the Scandinavian forms, such as [[sv|spel]] and [[da|spil]], as borrowings from German, and Pfeifer counts [[ang|spilian|t=to play]] among them,^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB|16, 2275) while Kroonen lists the Old English verb as a cognate.^(Kroonen 2013) The verb [[spielen]], [[m|goh|spilōn]], is derived from the noun.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Kluge 2011|867)

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+ The starting sense seems to have been “dance” or “dancing, lively movement”; beyond that the origin is unknown.^(Kluge 2011|867)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|801) Kroonen notes that Middle High German [[m|gmh|spilen]] in the senses “to move about lively” and “to sparkle” suggests an old iterative verb, and rejects a comparison with [[lv|spīlēt|t=to clamp, pinch]] as semantically remote.^(Kroonen 2013)^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''spil'' is first recorded in glosses of the second quarter of the 9th century, and then in Otfrid and Notker.^(Köbler AHD)^(Schützeichel 2012|305) It meant “game, play, jest”, “music”, “spectacle, stage play” and also “dance”, “musical instrument” and “combat game”.^(EWA|8, 765)^(Köbler AHD) The verb ''spilōn'' is older, recorded in the 8th century.^(Kluge 2011|867)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Until Middle High German the word also meant “hunt” (still in [[Windspiel]]) and “dance”.^(Paul 2002) From the start, though, its usual sense was pastime and entertainment, the opposite of [[Arbeit]].^(Duden 7 2020|801)^(Paul 2002) In Middle High German it covered amusement, music, theatre, tournaments, gambling and board games.^(Köbler MHD)^(Lexer 1872)

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+ Since the 16th century ''im Spiel sein'' has meant “to be involved”;^(Pfeifer 1993) ''ins Spiel bringen'' “to bring in” follows in the 18th century.^(Pfeifer 1993) [[Spielraum]] (18th century) first meant the play between the bore of a gun and the ball, and then any room to move;^(Pfeifer 1993) the technical sense “play, slack” of machine parts belongs here.^(Wiktionary) Wieland and later Nietzsche saw play as an ideal of human activity.^(Paul 2002)

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+ English ''spiel'' “glib talk”, recorded in 1896, probably comes from the German verb, but perhaps also from the noun.^(Etymonline) Hebrew borrowed compounds such as ''Glockenspiel'' and ''Singspiel''.^(LWP)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * 8th century – The verb ''spilōn'' is recorded.^(Kluge 2011|867)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 9th century – Old High German ''spil'' appears in glosses.^(Köbler AHD)^(Kluge 2011|867)

+ * c. 900 – ''spilāri'' “drummer, dancer, actor”, the ancestor of [[Spieler]], is recorded.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 16th century – ''im Spiel sein'' “to be involved” is recorded.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 18th century – ''Spielraum'' and ''ins Spiel bringen'' appear.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1896 – English ''spiel'' “glib talk” is recorded.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|play]]: activity done for pleasure, without a purpose: ''Die Katze vergaß beim Spiel die Zeit.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A [[m|en|game]] played by rules: ''ein Spiel für vier Personen''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A game of chance, [[m|en|gambling]].^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # A [[m|en|match]] in sport: ''Das Spiel endete unentschieden.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The way a person or team plays: ''ein schnelles Spiel''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # The playing of an instrument, or the performance of an actor; also a stage play.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary DE)

+ # A set of the things needed for a game, such as a pack of cards.^(Wiktionary DE)

+ # ''(mechanics)'' Play, [[m|en|slack]]: the free movement of a part.^(Wiktionary)^(Wiktionary DE)

+ # ''(Switzerland)'' A military band.^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(hunting)'' The tail of a pheasant.^(EWA|8, 765)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[spielen]]

+ * [[Spieler]]

+ * [[Spielmann]]

+ * [[Spielraum]]

+ * [[Spielzeug]]

+ * [[spielerisch]]

+ * [[Schauspiel]]

+ * [[Lustspiel]]

+ * [[Trauerspiel]]

+ * [[Glücksspiel]]

+ * [[Kinderspiel]]

+ * [[Windspiel]]

+ * [[Festspiele]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[en|spiel]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Das Spiel verderben'' is to spoil the fun, ''die Hand mit im Spiel haben'' to have a hand in something, and ''auf dem Spiel stehen'' to be at stake.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden GWDS 1999) The proverb ''Pech im Spiel, Glück in der Liebe'' contrasts luck at gambling with luck in love.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}