Region German · revision 35018

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1478|origins=la regō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ʁeˈɡi̯oːn/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Region''' ''f'' (genitive Region, plural Regionen)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|regiō|t=direction, line; area, district]], borrowed in the second half of the 15th century.^(Kluge 2011|754)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DFWB) The Latin noun is derived from [[m|la|regō|t=to direct, guide]], in the sense “to mark out boundaries”, and so belongs with [[regieren]].^(Kluge 2011|754)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|682) The same Latin word is the source of [[en|region]], [[fr|région]] and [[sv|region]].^(Kluge 2011|754) The Latin form ⟨Regio⟩ is still occasionally used in German, also in Latin phrases.^(DFWB)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record, of 1478, uses the word for a layer of the air or a sphere of the heavens: Icarus flies ever higher until he touches “die fürin region und spere der himeln” (“the fiery region and sphere of the heavens”).^(DFWB)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From its first sense of a zone of the air or of the sky the word passed to regions of the earth, and in particular to the area where certain plants and animals live, as in ''Schneeregion'' and ''Waldregion''.^(DFWB) From the early 16th century medicine used it for a part or zone of the body, as in ''Herzregion''.^(DFWB)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ At the end of the 18th century it was transferred to the mind and society, for a sphere or a social circle: Goethe wrote in 1783 of “jenen höhern Regionen der Menschheit” (“those higher regions of mankind”).^(Paul 2002)^(DFWB) From the early 19th century it has been used in politics and economics for an area forming a unit, which is its main use today.^(Paul 2002)^(DFWB) The adjective ''regional'' is dated by Pfeifer to the end of the 19th century and by Paul to 1918, under the influence of Late Latin ''regionalis''.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1478 – First record, for a sphere of the heavens.^(DFWB)

+ * Early 16th century – The word is used in medicine for a zone of the body.^(DFWB)

+ * 1783 – Goethe uses it for a sphere of the mind.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1822 – First record in the political and geographical sense.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1918 – ''regional'' is recorded.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|region]], a larger area marked by particular features such as climate or economy.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(formal)'' A [[m|en|sphere]], a field or [[m|en|realm]]: ''Die Mathematik war für ihn eine fremde Region.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(DFWB)

+ # ''(anatomy)'' A region or section of the body or of an organ.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Duden Fremdwörterbuch 2007)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[regional]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[regieren]]

+ * [[en|region]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''In höheren Regionen schweben'' (humorous) is to have one's head in the clouds and lose touch with reality.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(DFWB)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}