also German · revision 34904

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=8th century, Old High German}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈʔalzoː/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''also''' (adverb, conjunction and particle)^(Wiktionary)

+ The spelling ''allso'', which shows the link with [[all]], occurs now and then from the 17th to the 19th century.^(DWB2|2, 557)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|alsō]], [[af|goh|al|sō|t1=entirely|t2=so]], so that it first meant “entirely so, just so”.^(Kluge 2011|35)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|90) It continues [[gmw-pro|*allswā]].^(Wiktionary) The same formation is [[gml|alsō]], [[dum|also]], [[ang|eallswā]], the source of English [[m|en|also]], and [[ofs|alsa]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB2|2, 557)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ In Old and Middle High German the stress was originally on the second syllable, but it could move to the first, as the weakened forms [[m|goh|alse]] and [[m|gmh|als]] show; these became the conjunction [[als]].^(DWB2|2, 557)^(Duden 7 2020|90)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Kluge dates Old High German ''alsō'' to the 8th century,^(Kluge 2011|35) Pfeifer and Köbler to the 9th, when it appears in glosses.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Köbler AHD) It is used in the ''Hildebrandslied'', Notker and Williram, meaning “so, likewise, just as” and “as if”.^(Schützeichel 2012|33)^(Köbler AHD)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the 13th century ''also'' was also used as a conjunction.^(Kluge 2011|35) The adverb “in this way” is attested in Early New High German from 1335;^(Paul 2002) Adelung remarked that good writers no longer liked to use it except for the rhythm of the sentence, and today it is archaic, as in ''der also Befragte''.^(Paul 2002) Nietzsche's title ''Also sprach Zarathustra'' uses it in this old sense.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ The main modern use, drawing a conclusion (“therefore, so”), was already described by Adelung; from it came “that is, namely” and the use as a discourse particle, as in ''na also!''.^(Paul 2002)^(Adelung 1793)^(Duden GWDS 1999) Hebrew borrowed the word as ''alzo'' “accordingly”.^(LWP)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 8th–9th century – Old High German ''alsō'' is recorded.^(Kluge 2011|35)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 13th century – ''also'' is used as a conjunction.^(Kluge 2011|35)

+ * 1335 – The adverb “in this way” is recorded in Early New High German.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 17th–19th century – The spelling ''allso'' occurs.^(DWB2|2, 557)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # [[m|en|therefore]], consequently: ''es regnet, also bleiben wir zu Hause''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # That is, in other words, summing up what came before: ''Haustiere, also Hunde, Katzen und Pferde''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Resumes an interrupted train of thought: ''also, wo war ich?''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(dated)'' Thus, in this way.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Particle===

+ # Adds emphasis to a statement, question or request: ''also gut'', ''na also!''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[all]]

+ * [[so]]

+ * [[als]]

+ * [[en|also]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}