weil German · revision 34882

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=11th century|origins=gem-pro *hwīlō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /vaɪ̯l/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''weil''' (subordinating conjunction)^(Wiktionary)

+ Middle High German had the fuller [[m|gmh|die wîle]] and [[m|gmh|al die wîle]], continued in the older New High German [[dieweil]] and [[alldieweil]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB|28, 762) Forms with a final ''-e'' are still found in 1486.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|wîle]], shortened from [[m|gmh|die wîle]], [[inh|goh|thiu wīla sō|t=as long as]]: an accusative of time of the noun that is today [[Weile]], literally “the while that”.^(Kluge 2011|979)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden GWDS 1999) When the linking [[m|goh|sō]] was dropped, the phrase itself became a conjunction, already in Middle High German.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB|28, 762) Parallel phrases are [[gml|de wīle]], [[dum|de wīle dat]] and [[ang|þā hwīle þe]].^(Pfeifer 1993) Dutch [[m|nl|wijl|t=since, because]] developed in the same way, while English [[m|en|while]] stayed temporal.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ The noun is [[goh|wīla]], from [[gmw-pro|*hwīlu]] and [[gem-pro|*hwīlō|t=time, period of rest]].^(Wiktionary)^(Köbler AHD) Wiktionary and Köbler trace it to a root [[ine-pro|*kʷyeh₁-|t=to rest]].^(Wiktionary)^(Köbler AHD)

+

+ The bare form without the article first appears in regions whose dialects had early lost the vowel of the unstressed article, so that the phrase could easily be reduced.^(DWB|28, 762)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The Old High German phrase ''thiu wīla sō'' “as long as”, literally “the time that”, is recorded in the 11th century.^(Pfeifer 1993) Middle High German ''die wîle (daʒ)'' meant “as long as, while”.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB|28, 762) The short form ''weil'' is recorded from the 15th century, first in Upper German texts: a legal record from Klosters in Graubünden, a Mainz chronicle from before 1484 and a Regensburg song of 1489.^(Paul 2002)^(DWB|28, 762)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The conjunction was first temporal, “as long as” and “while”.^(Kluge 2011|979)^(Pfeifer 1993) As with [[während]], the expression of simultaneity could take on a contrast; the causal sense then grew out of the same contexts.^(Kluge 2011|979) Pfeifer dates the first causal uses to the 14th century, in Tauler, in clauses where the temporal conjunction also gives a reason.^(Pfeifer 1993) The causal sense has prevailed since the 15th century, while the temporal one stayed in use and receded only in the 18th century.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002) Adelung, around 1800, calls the sense “as long as” largely obsolete, kept by poets and in everyday speech.^(Adelung 1793) The old meaning survives in the older form of the proverb ''man muß das Eisen schmieden, weil es warm ist'' “strike while the iron is hot”.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ Recently ''weil'' has come to be used, in speech, to open a main clause with the verb in second place, like [[denn]].^(Paul 2002)^(Duden GWDS 1999) An answer ''Weil!'' on its own refuses to give a reason, beside the older ''Darum!''.^(Paul 2002)^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 11th century – The Old High German phrase ''thiu wīla sō'' “as long as” is recorded.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 14th century – Causal uses of ''die wîle'' appear, first in Tauler.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 15th century – Bare ''weil'' appears in Upper German sources; the causal sense becomes the main one.^(Paul 2002)^(DWB|28, 762)

+ * 1486 – Forms with a final ''-e'' are still recorded.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 18th century – The temporal use recedes.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Conjunction===

+ # [[m|en|because]]: introduces a clause giving the reason or cause, often stressed: ''Sie blieb zu Hause, weil ihr Kind Fieber hatte.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Introduces a shortened clause or an attribute giving a reason: ''ein billiges, weil gebrauchtes Fahrrad''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary DE)

+ # Introduces the answer to a direct question about a reason: ''„Warum lachst du?“ – „Weil der Hund einen Hut trägt.“''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(with a temporal sense)'' Now that, since: ''Weil du schon hier bist, kannst du mir helfen.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' Introduces a main clause with the verb in second place, explaining what was just said.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary DE)

+ # ''(obsolete)'' [[m|en|while]], as long as.^(Wiktionary)^(Adelung 1793)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[dieweil]]

+ * [[alldieweil]]

+ * [[derweil]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Weile]]

+ * [[en|while]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Since ''weil'' introduces a subordinate clause, the standard language puts the finite verb at the end (''weil er krank ist''); the order with the verb in second place (''weil er ist krank'') is common in speech but is not considered correct in the standard language.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}