damals German · revision 34984

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1508/16, Brennwald's Swiss chronicle}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈdaːmaːls/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''damals'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from [[da]] “then” and [[Mal]] “point in time”, with [[-s]], the genitive ending turned into an adverbial suffix.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB2|6, 120)^(Kluge 2011|178) The pattern is the Middle High German genitive [[m|gmh|des māles|t=at that time; this time]], in which the adverb took the place of the article as a reinforcement, as in [[daheim]].^(Kluge 2011|178)^(Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch) The noun is [[gmh|māl]], [[m|goh|māl|t=point of time, time]].^(Kluge 2011|178)^(Schützeichel 2012|213)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The Grimms' revision finds it soon after 1500, first as ''do mals'' in Brennwald's Swiss chronicle (1508/16), but not in Luther; dictionaries record it from Henisch (1616).^(DWB2|6, 120) The older forms ''damalen'' (mid-15th century) and ''damal'' (late 15th century) lasted into the 19th century, and ''dazumal'', from Middle High German ''dō ze māle'', is older still.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB2|6, 120) In the 16th century ''dazumal'' was still the commoner word.^(DWB2|6, 120)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Damals'' has always pointed back to a time in the past, usually one already mentioned.^(DWB2|6, 120)^(FWB) In the 17th century some poets, among them Opitz, also used it of the future, for “then, at that time to come”.^(DWB|2, 701) The adjective [[damalig]] was formed from ''damal'' at the beginning of the 17th century, and Goethe used ''das Damals'' as a noun in 1814.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB2|6, 123)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Mid-15th century – ''damalen'' is recorded.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1508/16 – ''do mals'' appears in Brennwald's Swiss chronicle.^(DWB2|6, 120)

+ * 1610 – ''damalig'' is recorded.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1616 – Henisch lists the word in his dictionary.^(DWB2|6, 120)

+ * 1814 – Goethe uses ''das Damals'' as a noun.^(DWB2|6, 123)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # At that time, [[m|en|then]]: at a certain moment or period in the past.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Word family==

+ * [[dazumal]]

+ * [[damalig]]

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Mal]]

+ * [[da]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ The Grimms recorded ''desmals'', from Middle High German ''des māles'', as still heard in popular speech.^(DWB|2, 701) Yiddish has [[m|yi|דעמאָלט|tr=demolt]] and [[m|yi|דעמאָלטס|tr=demolts]].^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}