Bürgermeister German · revision 34961

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=13th century|origins=goh burgāri, la magister}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈbʏrɡərˌmaɪ̯stər/^(Wiktionary)

+ * /ˌbʏrɡərˈmaɪ̯stər/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Bürgermeister''' ''m'' (genitive Bürgermeisters, plural Bürgermeister, feminine Bürgermeisterin)^(Wiktionary)

+ Beside Middle High German ''burgermeister'' there was a form ''burgemeister'', in which the first -er- was dissimilated before the second; it survives in dialects.^(Duden 7 2007)^(Wiktionary) Adelung, around 1800, defended the common ''Burgemeister'', which Frisch had criticised, as easier to pronounce.^(Adelung 1793)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|burgermeister]], a compound [[af|gmh|burger|meister|t1=citizen|t2=master]]: the head of a town as the “leader of the citizens”, with the older sense of [[Meister]] “leader, head”.^(Kluge 2011|164)^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Duden 7 2007) Wiktionary notes that it is uncertain whether this form or [[m|gmh|burgemeister]], with [[Burg]] “town” as the first element, is the original.^(Wiktionary) [[gml|börgermēister]], [[dum|borgermeester]] and [[ofs|burgermāster]] correspond.^(DWB2|5, 1021)

+

+ The first element is [[Bürger]], [[goh|burgāri]], an inhabitant of a fortified town, probably reshaped from an old compound like [[ang|burgware|t=citizens]].^(Kluge 2011|163)^(Duden 7 2007) The second is [[m|gmh|meister]], Old High German [[m|goh|meistar]], borrowed from [[la|magister|t=master, chief, leader]].^(Kluge 2011|613)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Kluge dates the word to the 13th century.^(Kluge 2011|164) Köbler's earliest source is a charter of 1264, and the revised Grimm dictionary quotes a charter of 1259 naming Albrecht von dem Burgtor ''burgærmeister'' together with the Sixteen and other citizens.^(Köbler MHD)^(DWB2|5, 1021)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word is frequent in charters from the late Middle Ages, for the chairman of a town council or administration.^(FWB)^(DWB2|5, 1021) Adelung describes him as the first of the civic authorities of a town, rendered as Latin ''consul'' or ''proconsul'', and adds that in some Upper German regions the mayor of a village was also called ''Bürgermeister''.^(Adelung 1793) Translators also used it for the Roman consul, as in Megiser's Carinthian chronicle of 1612.^(DWB2|5, 1021)

+

+ It was borrowed as [[pl|burmistrz]] and [[cs|purkmistr]], and [[hu|polgármester]] is a loan translation.^(Wiktionary)^(LWP) English took it as ''burghermaster'' (1676) and later as ''bürgermeister'' for a German or Austrian mayor.^(LWP)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1259 – ''burgærmeister'' in a charter.^(DWB2|5, 1021)

+ * 1264 – ''burgermeister'' in a charter.^(Köbler MHD)

+ * About 1430 – Ulrich von Richental names the ''burgermaister'' of Constance.^(DWB2|5, 1021)

+ * 1612 – Megiser uses it for a Roman consul.^(DWB2|5, 1021)

+ * 1676 – English ''burghermaster'' is recorded.^(LWP)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The (elected) head of a municipality, a [[m|en|mayor]].^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)^(Wiktionary DE)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Bürgermeisterin]]

+ * [[Oberbürgermeister]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Bürger]]

+ * [[Meister]]

+ * [[Burg]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Adelung also records ''Bürgermeister'' as the name of a northern web-footed seabird, called ''burghermaster'' in English too.^(Adelung 1793)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}