Woche German · revision 34879

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈvɔxə/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Woche''' ''f'' (genitive Woche, plural Wochen, diminutive Wöchlein n or Wöchelchen n)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|woche]], [[inh|goh|wohha]], older [[m|goh|wehha]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*wikā]], [[inh|gem-pro|*wikǭ|t=sequence, week]].^(Kluge 2011|993)^(Wiktionary)^(Kroonen 2013) The Old High German /o/ arose from /e/ under the influence of the preceding /w/, from the 11th century.^(Pfeifer 1993) The same word is [[got|𐍅𐌹𐌺𐍉|tr=wikō|t=order, sequence]], [[non|vika|t=week; sea mile]], [[ang|wicu]], [[ofs|wike]] and [[osx|wika]], and today [[nl|week]], [[en|week]], [[sv|vecka]] and [[is|vika]].^(Kluge 2011|993)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Kroonen 2013)

+

+ It belongs to the same base as [[Wechsel]] and [[weichen]], from [[ine-pro|*weyg-|t=to bend, turn, yield]].^(Kluge 2011|993)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|938)^(Wiktionary) Kluge also compares [[la|vicis|t=change, turn]], although its final consonant does not match, which he takes as variation.^(Kluge 2011|993) The Old Norse sea mile is explained as the stretch after which the rowers took turns.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB|30, 923) The usual view derives “week” from “giving way”;^(Kroonen 2013) Kroonen thinks that the Gothic sense and Faroese [[m|fo|vika|t=to shift, move]] point rather to an original “shift, change”.^(Kroonen 2013)

+

+ The word thus meant “change, sequence” and then a regularly recurring period, the series of days that follow one another.^(Kluge 2011|993)^(Pfeifer 1993) When the Germanic peoples learnt of the seven-day week from the Romans, they used this native word for it.^(Duden 7 2020|938)^(DWB|30, 923) The Grimms' dictionary notes that they did not borrow [[la|septimana]], which Irish borrowed: [[sga|sechtman]].^(DWB|30, 923)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''wehha'' is first recorded in glosses of the third quarter of the 8th century, and then in Isidor, the Benedictine Rule, Otfrid and Notker, meaning “week”.^(Köbler AHD)^(Schützeichel 2012|376)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A woman who had given birth was to keep to her bed and room for six weeks, until her first church-going; so Middle High German ''sehs wochen'' named this time.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002) From about 1500 the plural ''die Wochen'' alone meant “childbed”.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002) ''In die Wochen kommen'' “to give birth” is recorded from the 16th century.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Kluge 2011|993) From this come [[Wochenbett]] (1595, shortened from ''Sechswochenbett'') and [[Wöchnerin]] (1601), which replaced the older ''Kindbetterin''.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ As the weekdays contrast with Sunday, ''in der Woche'' and ''unter der Woche'' came to mean “on working days”.^(Paul 2002)^(Duden GWDS 1999) ''Wochenblatt'' (1741) is a loan translation of English ''weekly paper'', and since the First World War ''Wochenende'' has also meant the free time from Saturday to Sunday evening, after English ''weekend''.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 8th century – Old High German ''wehha'' appears in glosses.^(Köbler AHD)^(Kluge 2011|993)

+ * 11th century – The form ''wohha'' with /o/ appears.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 14th century – ''Wochenmarkt'' and ''wöchentlich'' are recorded.^(Paul 2002)

+ * c. 1500 – The plural ''die Wochen'' is used for childbed.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1595 – ''Wochenbett'' is recorded.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1601 – ''Wöchnerin'' is recorded.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1741 – ''Wochenblatt'' is formed after English ''weekly paper''.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|week]]: a recurring period of seven days, in the calendar beginning on Monday: ''in der dritten Woche des Monats''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Any period of seven days: ''Das Paket war zwei Wochen unterwegs.''^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(without plural, in phrases)'' The working days of the week, as opposed to the [[Wochenende]]: ''unter der Woche'', ''während der Woche''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(plural, dated)'' [[Wochenbett]], [[m|en|childbed]]: ''in die Wochen kommen'' “to give birth”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary DE)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Wochenbett]]

+ * [[Wöchnerin]]

+ * [[wöchentlich]]

+ * [[Wochenende]]

+ * [[Wochentag]]

+ * [[Wochenblatt]]

+ * [[Wochenmarkt]]

+ * [[wochenlang]]

+ * [[Karwoche]]

+ * [[Kalenderwoche]]

+ * [[Mittwoch]]

+ * [[-wöchig]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Wechsel]]

+ * [[weichen]]

+ * [[en|week]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Englische Woche'' is a football term for a period of eight days in which a team plays three league matches, after the practice of the British leagues.^(Duden GWDS 1999) ''In die andere Woche gucken'' (colloquial, joking) is to stare absently into space.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}