oft German · revision 35058

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=8th century, Old High German glosses|origins=gem-pro *uftō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ɔft/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''oft''' (comparative öfter, superlative am öftesten)^(Wiktionary)

+ The fuller form ''ofte'' was still used occasionally in the 18th and 19th centuries.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB|13, 1192) The comparative ''öfter'' and the superlative ''öftest'' with umlaut appear in the 15th century, beside older ''ofter'', ''oftest''.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Lexer 1872|2, 148) Until the 18th century a double comparative ''öfterer'' was also used.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|ofte]], [[inh|goh|ofto]], [[inh|gem-pro|*uftō|t=often]].^(Kluge 2011|667)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Kroonen 2013) The same adverb is [[got|𐌿𐍆𐍄𐌰|tr=ufta]], [[non|opt]], [[ang|oft]], [[ofs|ofta]] and [[osx|ofto]], whence [[en|oft]] and its extended form [[m|en|often]], and [[sv|ofta]].^(Kluge 2011|667)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Kroonen 2013)

+

+ Its origin is unclear.^(Kluge 2011|667)^(Pfeifer 1993) Kluge, Pfeifer and the Duden consider a derivation from the adverb seen in [[ob]] (“above”), so that the starting sense would be “excessively, beyond (once)”; compare [[m|non|of|t=great quantity]].^(Kluge 2011|667)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|593) Kroonen derives it from [[gem-pro|*uba]] and reconstructs [[ine-pro|*h₁up-to-]].^(Kroonen 2013) Pfeifer also mentions a comparison with the Sanskrit participle meaning “thrown, strewn, sown”, which would give a starting sense “thickly strewn, following closely”.^(Pfeifer 1993) The Grimms' dictionary calls the origin not cleared up.^(DWB|13, 1192)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''ofto'' is recorded from the 8th century, first in glosses of about 765, then in the Isidor, Tatian, Otfrid and Notker, translating Latin ''saepe'', ''crebro'', ''frequenter'' and also ''interdum'' “sometimes”.^(EWA|6, 1142)^(Köbler AHD)^(Schützeichel 2012|245) Wulfila uses Gothic ''ufta'' for Greek ''pollákis'' “many times”.^(DWB|13, 1192)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From Old High German on the word meant both “many times” and, depending on the context, merely “sometimes, at times”.^(DWB|13, 1192)^(Pfeifer 1993) Adelung, in the 18th century, defined it as “more than once, without the idea of a great number”.^(Paul 2002)^(Adelung 1793) In the 16th and 17th centuries the need for an adjective led to forms such as ''die often Stöße'' (Andreas Gryphius), and Lessing still wrote ''die allzuofte Wiederholung'' “the all too frequent repetition”.^(Paul 2002) The adjectival use of the comparative, as in ''öftere Besuche'', became general, while for the positive ''oftmalig'' (1664) took over.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ The comparative ''öfter'' largely lost its comparative sense and came to mean “quite often, now and then”, as in Goethe's ''trüget doch öfter der Schein'' “appearances are often deceptive”.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002) The genitive form ''öfters'' appears in the 17th century and is now regional, and ''oftmals'' in the 16th.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 765 – Old High German ''ofto'' appears in glosses.^(Köbler AHD)^(EWA|6, 1142)

+ * 15th century – The umlauted comparative ''öfter'' and superlative ''öftest'' appear.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 16th century – ''oftmals'' appears.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 17th century – ''öfters'' appears.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1664 – ''oftmalig'' is first recorded.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # [[m|en|often]], many times, [[m|en|repeatedly]]: ''Wir waren schon oft in Wien.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # In many cases, quite [[m|en|frequently|alt=frequently]]: ''So ein Fehler kommt oft vor.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # At short [[m|en|interval|alt=intervals]]: ''Die Straßenbahn fährt hier sehr oft.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[öfter]]

+ * [[öfters]]

+ * [[oftmals]]

+ * [[oftmalig]]

+ * [[sooft]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ob]]

+ * [[en|often]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Oft und oft'' means “very often”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Lexer 1872|2, 148) The proverb ''Unverhofft kommt oft'' (“the unexpected often happens”) is recorded by Adelung.^(Adelung 1793) The opposite is ''selten''.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}