lange German · revision 35069

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * [ˈlaŋə]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''lange'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Comparative ''länger'', superlative ''am längsten''; colloquially also ''lang''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary) Early New High German also had a comparative ''leng'', as in Burkard Waldis.^(DWB|12, 162)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|lange]], also [[m|gmh|langen]], [[inh|goh|lango|t=for a long time, long ago]], the adverb of the adjective [[lang]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2007)^(Wiktionary) The adjective is [[m|goh|lang]], from [[gem-pro|*langaz|t=long]], the same word as [[got|𐌻𐌰𐌲𐌲𐍃|tr=laggs]], [[non|langr]], [[ang|lang]], [[ofs|lang]] and [[osx|lang]], and today [[nl|lang]] and [[en|long]].^(Kluge 2011|558)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(EWA|5, 1009)

+

+ Kluge compares it in the first place only with [[la|longus|t=long]].^(Kluge 2011|558) Other words for “long”, such as [[grc|δολιχός|tr=dolikhós]], [[sa|दीर्घ|tr=dīrghá]], [[cu|дльгъ|tr=dlĭgŭ]] and [[lt|ilgas|alt=ìlgas]], rest on a base without a nasal; a common source [[m|ine-pro|*dlongh-]] would fit both, but Kluge calls the connection problematic and disputed.^(Kluge 2011|558) Pfeifer accepts it and derives the whole group from a nasalised extension of [[ine-pro|*del-|t=long]], adding [[got|𐍄𐌿𐌻𐌲𐌿𐍃|tr=tulgus|t=firm, steadfast]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Köbler AHD)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''lango'' is recorded from the 8th century, meaning “for a long time, long ago, long since”.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Schützeichel 2012|192) It occurs in the Tatian, Otfrid, Notker, Williram, the Benedictine Rule and the ''Ludwigslied'', and a form ''lange'' in Isidor and the Monsee fragments.^(Schützeichel 2012|192) Otfrid's dedication to King Louis asks: ''lango, liobo druhtin mîn, lâʒ imo thie dagâ sîn'' “dear Lord, let his days be long”.^(DWB|12, 162)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the start the adverb was temporal, and modern German keeps it apart from the adjective, which also covers length in space.^(DWB|12, 162)^(Duden 7 2007) Adelung, around 1800, notes that ''lange'' is used of time only where no noun of time is present (''lange schreiben'' beside ''lange Zeit'').^(Adelung 1793) It goes with verbs of lasting, staying and living, as in Luther's ''auf das du lang lebest im lande'' (Exodus 20:12) and the proverb ''ehrlich währt am längsten''.^(DWB|12, 162)

+

+ With a following ''nicht'' it means “by far, not nearly”: ''lange nicht so gut''.^(Duden GWDS 1999) The line ''lang, lang ist's her'' comes from the German version of Thomas Haynes Bayly's English song “Long, long ago”.^(Duden GWDS 1999) Related adverbs come from the genitive of the adjective: [[längs]] (a preposition since the 14th century), and with a secondary /t/ [[längst]] “long since” and [[unlängst]] “recently”, from 15th-century ''unlang(e)s''.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2007)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 8th century – Old High German ''lango''.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 9th century – Otfrid uses ''lango'' in his dedication to King Louis.^(DWB|12, 162)^(Schützeichel 2012|192)

+ * 14th century – ''längs'', the genitive of the adjective, becomes a preposition.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 15th century – ''unlang(e)s'', the source of ''unlängst''.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1793 – Adelung restricts ''lange'' to time where no noun of time is used.^(Adelung 1793)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # For a long time: ''wir haben lange auf den Bus gewartet'';^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary) ''schon lange'' “for a long time now”;^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary) ''es ist lange her'' “it was long ago”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(colloquial, ironic)'' ''da kannst du lange warten'': that will never happen.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # With a following ''nicht'': by far, not nearly: ''das reicht noch lange nicht''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lang]]

+ * [[längst]]

+ * [[längs]]

+ * [[unlängst]]

+ * [[Länge]]

+ * [[en|long]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}