zurück German · revision 35014

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=9th century}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /t͡suˈʁʏk/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''zurück'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|ze rucke]], [[inh|goh|zi rugge|t=to the back]], a phrase of the preposition [[zu]] and the noun now [[Rücken]].^(Kluge 2011|1018)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|703) The same phrase is [[gml|to rugge]] and [[dum|terugghe]], whence [[nl|terug]] and [[nds|torüch]].^(Kluge 2011|1018)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary) The noun goes back to [[gem-pro|*hrugjaz|t=back]], also in [[non|hryggr]] and [[ang|hrycg]].^(Kluge 2011|775)^(Kroonen 2013) The Grimms compare the same development from a word for the back in [[sv|tillbaka]], [[da|tilbage]] and [[en|back]].^(DWB|32, 678)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''zi rugge'' “in the back, backwards, back”, rendering Latin ''retrorsum'', is recorded from the 9th century.^(EWA|7, 696)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Kluge 2011|1018) Old High German also said ''hintar ruggi'' for “back”.^(EWA|7, 696)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Middle High German the phrase still meant “onto the back”, while “back” was mostly expressed by ''hôher'' or ''hindersich''.^(DWB|32, 678) The concrete meaning began to fade in the 12th century, and the phrase came to mean “backwards”;^(Kluge 2011|1018)^(Duden GWDS 1999) Middle High German occasionally wrote it as one word, ''zerucke''.^(Kluge 2011|1018)^(Duden GWDS 1999) By the 17th century both the fusion into one word and the abstract meaning were complete.^(DWB|32, 678) The older ''zurücke'' then remained a poetic variant, used by Klopstock and Goethe.^(DWB|32, 678)

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+ The adverb combines freely with verbs (''zurückgehen'', ''zurückrufen'') and their nouns in ''-ung'', while newer compound nouns use the short form ''Rück-'', as in ''Rückblick'' and ''Rückfall''.^(Kluge 2011|1018)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|703) Hungarian ''curukk'' “back”, recorded in 1600, is a borrowing of the German word.^(LWP)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 9th century – Old High German ''zi rugge'' is recorded.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 12th century – The concrete meaning “to the back” begins to fade.^(Kluge 2011|1018)

+ * 1600 – Hungarian ''curukk'' is recorded, borrowed from German.^(LWP)

+ * 17th century – ''zurück'' is fully established as one word with an abstract meaning.^(DWB|32, 678)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # [[m|en|back]], to or towards the starting point: ''hin und zurück'' “there and back”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Back, at the starting point again: ''Sie ist um sechs Uhr zurück.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # [[m|en|backwards]], to the rear; also as a command: ''Zurück!'' “stand back!”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Further back, behind: ''Er saß zwei Reihen weiter zurück.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(regional)'' [[m|en|ago]], before: ''ein Jahr zurück''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' Behind in development, lagging: ''Die Kirschen sind dieses Jahr noch weit zurück.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[rück-]]

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Rücken]]

+ * [[zu]]

+ * [[en|ridge]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ As a noun, ''das Zurück'' is the possibility of turning back, chiefly in ''es gibt kein Zurück'' “there is no going back”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary) With verbs the word is a separable prefix: ''Er kommt morgen zurück.''^(Paul 2002)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}