Fall German · revision 34893

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=765, Old High German glosses|origins=gem-pro *fallaną}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /fal/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Fall''' ''m'' (genitive Falles or Falls, plural Fälle)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|val]], [[inh|goh|fal]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*fall]], first the noun of action of [[fallen]].^(Kluge 2011|274)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary) Kluge reconstructs a pre-German masculine a-stem and notes that the other Germanic languages have different stem formations;^(Kluge 2011|274) corresponding nouns are [[osx|fal]], [[ang|feall]], [[non|fall]], a neuter, [[nl|val]] and [[en|fall]].^(AWB|3, 531)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The verb, [[goh|fallan]], [[gem-pro|*fallaną]], once had a present-tense nasal, its /ll/ coming from /ln/.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(EWA|3, 36) Pfeifer compares it, at most, with [[xcl|փուլ|tr=pʿul|t=collapse]] and [[lt|pùlti|t=to fall]], and perhaps with [[grc|σφάλλω|tr=sphállō|t=to trip up, overthrow]], from a root meaning “to fall”.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ The image of falling dice and the many senses of [[la|cāsus|t=fall, occurrence, chance, case]], which the Old High German noun already translated, shaped the later meanings; phrases with [[fr|cas]] added more.^(Kluge 2011|274)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(EWA|3, 21) As a term of grammar the word is a loan meaning of the Latin noun (17th century), itself a translation of [[grc|πτῶσις|tr=ptôsis|t=a falling]], which named the grammatical cases after the different ways dice fall.^(Kluge 2011|274)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''fal'' is recorded in glosses of 765 and then in Isidor, the Tatian, Otfrid and Notker, meaning “fall, collapse, downfall, ruin” and “stumbling block”, for Latin ''casus'', ''ruina'' and ''scandalum''.^(Köbler AHD)^(EWA|3, 21)^(Schützeichel 2012|94) The Tatian (about 830) renders Matthew 7:27 as ''inti iz fiel, inti uúas sin fal mihhil'' “and it fell, and great was its fall”.^(DWB2|9, 79)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Middle High German ''val'' was used of the fall of dice, of water and of tones, and meant “fall, defeat, ruin, death”, a criminal case, and a due paid to the lord on a tenant's death.^(EWA|3, 21)^(Lexer 1872|3, 7) From the fall of the dice came words for chance and possibility, and with the model of Latin ''cāsus'' the senses “event, case, legal matter”.^(EWA|3, 21)^(Kluge 2011|274) Phrases such as ''setzen wir den Fall'', ''auf alle Fälle'' and ''das ist ganz mein Fall'' follow French ''posons le cas'', ''en tout cas'' and ''c'est là mon cas''.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(EWA|3, 21) For the grammatical case the loan translation ''Fall'' won out over the loanwords from Latin and French from Adelung's time on.^(EWA|3, 21)

+

+ Fixed in genitive forms, the noun became the adverb ''desfalls'' and the conjunction [[falls]] “in case”.^(DWB2|9, 79) The compound ''Fallbeil'' “guillotine” dates from the 17th century.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 765 – Old High German ''fal'' appears in glosses.^(Köbler AHD)

+ * c. 830 – The Tatian uses ''fal'' for the fall of the house in Matthew 7:27.^(DWB2|9, 79)

+ * c. 1185 – Hartmann's ''Erec'' has ''einen solhen val er nam'' “he took such a fall”.^(DWB2|9, 79)

+ * 17th century – ''Fall'' becomes a grammatical term after Latin ''cāsus''.^(Kluge 2011|274)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 17th century – ''Fallbeil'' is recorded.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * Late 18th century – From Adelung on, ''Fall'' prevails as the German word for grammatical case.^(EWA|3, 21)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(no plural)'' The act of falling, a [[m|en|drop]];^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary) ''der freie Fall'' (physics) free fall.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A [[m|en|tumble]] or [[m|en|fall]];^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary) ''(figurative)'' downfall, collapse: ''der Fall der Stadt''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A possible event, an [[m|en|eventuality]]: ''für den Fall, dass es schneit''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A matter or instance: ''ein schwieriger Fall''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(law)'' A [[m|en|case]] under investigation or trial.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(medicine)'' A case of an illness.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(grammar)'' A grammatical case.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Zufall]]

+ * [[Unfall]]

+ * [[Wasserfall]]

+ * [[Sündenfall]]

+ * [[Todesfall]]

+ * [[Notfall]]

+ * [[Einzelfall]]

+ * [[Sonderfall]]

+ * [[Fallbeil]]

+ * [[falls]]

+ * [[ebenfalls]]

+ * [[jedenfalls]]

+ * [[keinesfalls]]

+ * [[allenfalls]]

+ * [[Werfall]]

+ * [[Wesfall]]

+ * [[Wemfall]]

+ * [[Wenfall]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[fallen]]

+ * [[Falle]]

+ * [[fällig]]

+ * [[en|fall]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Common phrases are ''auf jeden Fall'' “in any case, definitely”, ''auf keinen Fall'' “under no circumstances”, ''zu Fall bringen'' “to bring down, defeat” and the colloquial ''nicht mein Fall'' “not my cup of tea”.^(Duden GWDS 1999) A separate neuter noun ''das Fall'', plural ''Fallen'', is the nautical word for a [[m|en|halyard]], the rope used to hoist a sail; it came into German from Low German.^(Wiktionary)^(Wiktionary DE)^(Goedel 1902)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}