hoch German · revision 34914

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /hoːx/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''hoch''' (strong nominative masculine singular hoher, comparative höher, superlative am höchsten)^(Wiktionary)

+ Before an ending the stem is ''hoh-'' (''hoher'', ''höher''), while the uninflected form and the superlative keep ''ch'' (''hoch'', ''am höchsten'').^(Paul 2002)^(Wiktionary) Many central and upper German dialects keep the ''ch'' in all forms, so that the Grimms' dictionary records ''ein hocher Berg''.^(DWB|10, 1590)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|hōch]], [[inh|goh|hōh]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*hauh]], [[inh|gem-pro|*hauhaz|t=high]].^(Kluge 2011|419)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary) The same word is [[got|𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌷𐍃|tr=hauhs]], [[non|hár]], [[ang|hēah]], [[ofs|hāch]] and [[osx|hōh]], and today [[nl|hoog]], [[en|high]] and [[sv|hög]].^(Kluge 2011|419)^(Kroonen 2013)^(Pfeifer 1993) Kluge thinks that it may also be contained in the tribal name of the Chauci.^(Kluge 2011|419) Kroonen notes that Swedish and Norwegian forms with /g/ point to a variant [[gem-pro|*hauga-]], with the stress on the ending, and compares [[m|non|haugr|t=hill]] and [[lt|kaũkas|t=bump]].^(Kroonen 2013)

+

+ Its further origin is unclear, and the sources go different ways.^(Kluge 2011|419)^(Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch) Kluge mentions [[xto|koc]] and [[txb|kauc|t=high, upward]], which have a different final consonant, and prefers a connection with [[grc|κύριος|tr=kúrios|t=lord, owner]] and [[cy|cawr|t=giant]], from a form [[ine-pro|*ḱou-ko-]] meaning “big, strong”; he does not connect it with [[Hügel]].^(Kluge 2011|419) Pfeifer and the Duden, on the contrary, put it with that word and derive it from [[ine-pro|*keuk-]], an extension of the root [[ine-pro|*keu-|t=to bend]], so that the word first meant “arched, vaulted”; to the same root they assign [[hocken]], [[hüpfen]], [[Haufen]] and [[Haube]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|373)^(Duden GWDS 1999) Wiktionary also gives [[ine-pro|*kewk-|t=to elevate]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The alternation between ⟨ch⟩ and ⟨h⟩ goes back to Middle High German, where /h/ was pronounced as the fricative at the end of a syllable but as a breath at its start, where it was later lost.^(Paul 2002)^(Wiktionary) Most such pairs were levelled, as [[nah]] beside [[nach]], but the standard language kept the alternation in this one word.^(Wiktionary)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''hōh'' is first recorded in glosses of about 765, and then in Isidor, the Tatian, Otfrid, Notker and Williram, meaning “high, lofty”, also “venerable, great” and “loud”.^(Köbler AHD)^(Schützeichel 2012|155) Middle High German ''hōch'' appears from Williram (1060–1065) on.^(Köbler MHD)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word refers both to the extent of a thing from the ground up (a high tower) and to its distance above the ground (the high sky).^(Paul 2002) It was transferred to sounds, which are imagined as rising and falling, and to value, price and rank, as in ''hochachten'' and ''hoher Adel''.^(Paul 2002) It is also used of time, as in ''hohes Alter'' “old age”.^(Duden 7 2020|373) Sometimes it refers to horizontal distance, because distant things seem to rise: ''das hohe mere'' is recorded in 1470 and ''die hohe See'' “the high seas” in 1720, matching Latin ''mare altum''.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ The compound [[hochdeutsch]] was formed in the second half of the 15th century for the language of central and southern Germany, as against [[niederdeutsch]], probably after the mountainous character of those regions; later it came to mean the standard language as opposed to dialect.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch) [[Hochmut]], Old High German ''hōhmuot'' (11th century), could still mean “high spirits, noble mind” in Middle High German before it narrowed to “arrogance”, which Wahrig attributes to the model of Latin ''superbia''.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch) The neuter noun ''[[Hoch]]'' meant “height” in the 17th century, then a cheer, and in the 20th century, in meteorology, an area of high pressure.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB|10, 1605) English took the phrase ''High German'' in 1706.^(LWP)

+

+ ==Timeline==

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

+ * 1060–1065 – Middle High German ''hōch'' is used by Williram.^(Köbler MHD)

+ * 1470 – ''das hohe mere'' “the high sea” is recorded.^(Paul 2002)

+ * Second half of the 15th century – The compound ''hochdeutsch'' is formed.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 16th century – ''höchstens'' “at most” appears.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|373)

+ * 17th century – The noun ''Hoch'' is used for “height”.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1706 – English ''High German'' is recorded.^(LWP)

+ * 1720 – ''die hohe See'' is recorded.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 20th century – ''Hoch'' is used for an area of high pressure.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|373)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of great vertical extent, [[m|en|tall]]: ''ein hoher Mast''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Situated far above the ground, high up: ''die Lerche fliegt hoch''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(after a measurement)'' Having a given height: ''eine drei Meter hohe Mauer''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # Large in amount or degree: ''hohe Kosten'', ''hohes Fieber''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Of high rank or importance, [[m|en|eminent]]: ''ein hoher Beamter''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(of sounds)'' High in [[m|en|pitch]].^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary DE)

+ # Advanced in time: ''im hohen Alter''.^(Duden 7 2020|373)^(Wiktionary DE)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' In ''jemandem zu hoch sein'': to be beyond someone's understanding.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Up, [[m|en|upwards]]: ''Hände hoch!''^(Wiktionary)^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' Northwards, as on a map: ''nach Kiel hoch''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' To the [[m|en|power]] of: ''zwei hoch drei''.^(Wiktionary)^(Wiktionary DE)

+ # Very, highly: ''hoch erfreut''.^(Wiktionary DE)^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Höhe]]

+ * [[Hoheit]]

+ * [[erhöhen]]

+ * [[Anhöhe]]

+ * [[höchst]]

+ * [[höchstens]]

+ * [[Hoch]]

+ * [[Hochachtung]]

+ * [[hochachtungsvoll]]

+ * [[hochdeutsch]]

+ * [[Hochmeister]]

+ * [[Hochmut]]

+ * [[hochmütig]]

+ * [[hochnäsig]]

+ * [[Hochofen]]

+ * [[Hochschule]]

+ * [[Hochstapler]]

+ * [[hochtrabend]]

+ * [[Hochzeit]]

+ * [[Dreikäsehoch]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Hügel]]

+ * [[hocken]]

+ * [[en|high]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}