Mitarbeiter German · revision 34975

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound, calque|attested=1546, Luther's Bible|origins=grc συνεργός}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈmɪtarˌbaɪ̯tər/, [ˈmɪ.taʁˌbaɪ̯.tɐ], [-taɐ̯-]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Mitarbeiter''' ''m'' (genitive Mitarbeiters, plural Mitarbeiter, feminine Mitarbeiterin)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|de|mit|Arbeiter]], formed by Luther as a loan translation of the New Testament word [[grc|συνεργός|tr=sunergós|t=fellow worker]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002)^(Duden 7 2007) Paul places it in Luther's version of 1 Corinthians 3:9 in the edition of 1546, and compares Medieval Latin [[m|la-med|collaborator]].^(Paul 2002)

+

+ The first part, [[m|de|mit]], is the old adverb and preposition, [[goh|mit|alt=mit(i)]], [[gem-pro|*midi|t=with]], also found in [[got|𐌼𐌹𐌸|tr=miþ]] and [[ang|mid]]; it is probably related to [[grc|μετά|tr=metá|t=among, with]].^(Kluge 2011|627)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2007)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In Luther's Bible the word renders Paul's description of the apostles as God's fellow workers (1 Corinthians 3:9), “one who works together with others on the same task”.^(Paul 2002)^(Adelung 1793)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Kaspar Stieler in 1691 used it to Germanise ''College'' “colleague”.^(Paul 2002) In the 18th and early 19th centuries it was often used of contributors to a periodical or a learned work: Herder speaks of becoming a contributor to the ''Literaturbriefe'', and Goethe of the contributors to a journal.^(DWB|12, 2338) Adelung defined it as a person who does the same work as another, especially on the same object.^(Adelung 1793) Today it usually means a member of a firm or institution, an employee.^(Paul 2002)^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1546 – Luther's Bible uses ''Mitarbeiter'' for Greek ''synergós'' (1 Corinthians 3:9).^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1691 – Stieler records it as a German word for ''College''.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1793 – Adelung records the feminine ''Mitarbeiterinn''.^(Adelung 1793)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An [[m|en|employee]], a member of the staff of a firm or institution.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A [[m|en|contributor]] to an institution, a newspaper or a learned work: ''ein freier Mitarbeiter'' is a freelance.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # A [[m|en|collaborator]] or assistant who works with someone, often in a dependent position.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Mitarbeiterin]]

+ * [[mitarbeiten]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Arbeiter]]

+ * [[mit]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ With a possessive pronoun (''meine Mitarbeiter'') the word is used only by a superior, meaning the staff under them.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}