wählen German · revision 35103

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=8th century, Old High German|origins=ine-pro *welh₁-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈvɛːlən/, /ˈvɛː.ln̩/, /ˈveːlən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''wählen''' (third-person singular present wählt, past tense wählte, past participle gewählt, auxiliary haben)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old High German had both ''wellen'' and ''wellan'', with a double /l/ from the following /j/;^(DWB|27, 550) Middle High German usually has ''weln'', with ''wellen'' in the 12th century and later in Upper German, and an old past tense ''walte'' lasted into the 15th century.^(DWB|27, 550)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|weln]], [[inh|goh|wellen]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*walljan]], [[inh|gem-pro|*waljaną|t=to choose]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|916)^(Wiktionary) The same verb is [[got|𐍅𐌰𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽|tr=waljan]], [[non|velja]], [[osx|willian]] and [[sv|välja]];^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Kluge 2011|967)^(Kroonen 2013) it is lacking in Frisian and English, and later Dutch and Low German did not have it either, Low German taking it back from High German in the 16th century.^(DWB|27, 550)

+

+ It belongs to the root [[ine-pro|*u̯el-|t=to want, choose]] of [[wollen]] and [[wohl]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|916)^(Paul 2002) Kroonen and Wiktionary write the root [[m|ine-pro|*welh₁-]] and take the verb as a causative or factitive formation in /-eje-/,^(Kroonen 2013)^(Wiktionary) and the Grimms compared [[cu|волити|tr=voliti|t=to want, prefer]] and [[la|volō|t=to want]].^(DWB|27, 550) Kluge says it is morphologically unclear how this verb split off from the one meaning “to want”; from today's point of view the verb looks like a derivative of [[Wahl]], and its vowel has been aligned with that noun.^(Kluge 2011|967) Pfeifer adds that the Old High German verb also entered the paradigm of the verb “to want” as an infinitive.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''wellen'' is dated to the 8th century, and the prefixed ''irwellen'' to around 800.^(Pfeifer 1993) In Notker and Otfrid and in the glosses it means “to choose, elect”.^(Schützeichel 2012|378) The Gothic and Old High German texts use prefixed forms (''gawaljan'', ''giwellen'', ''irwellen'') far more often than the simple verb.^(DWB|27, 550)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Wählen'' replaced the old strong verb [[kiesen]], which survives in the participle ''erkoren'';^(Kluge 2011|967)^(Kluge 2011|490)^(Paul 2002) Adelung still found ''kören'' and ''kiesen'' in the dialects.^(Adelung 1793|4, 1339) Since Middle High German the verb has also meant “to elect to an office”, and ''Wähler'' (Middle High German ''welære'') first named the electors who chose the king.^(Paul 2002)^(Pfeifer 1993) Trübner's dictionary calls ''wählen gehen'' “to go and vote” a fixed expression.^(Paul 2002) The verb has been used for dialling a telephone number since the 1920s.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ The participle ''gewählt'' “carefully chosen” dates from Early New High German and since the 18th century is used mainly of choice language (1794).^(Paul 2002) ''Wählerisch'' “fastidious” appears at the end of the 17th century and was still a low word for Adelung and Campe.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002) ''Wahlverwandtschaft'' was coined by Weigel in 1779 for Latin ''attractio electiva'' in chemistry and used figuratively by Goethe in his novel of 1809.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Timeline==

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

+ * About 800 – ''irwellen'' “to choose”.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * Middle High German – The sense “to elect to an office”;^(Paul 2002)^(Pfeifer 1993) ''welære'' “elector”.^(Paul 2002)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 16th century – The verb re-enters Low German from High German.^(DWB|27, 550)

+ * End of the 17th century – ''wählerisch''.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|916)

+ * 1779 – Weigel coins ''Wahlverwandtschaft''.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1809 – Goethe's novel ''Die Wahlverwandtschaften''.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1920s – ''eine Nummer wählen'' “to dial a number”.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|choose]], decide on one of two or more possibilities: ''Sie wählte das blaue Kleid.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To weigh up the possibilities before choosing: ''Er musste zwischen zwei Angeboten wählen.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # To [[m|en|dial]] a telephone number: ''Wählen Sie bitte die Durchwahl.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To [[m|en|vote]], or to [[m|en|elect]] someone or vote for a party: ''Am Sonntag wird ein neuer Bürgermeister gewählt.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Wähler]]

+ * [[wählerisch]]

+ * [[wählbar]]

+ * [[erwählen]]

+ * [[auserwählen]]

+ * [[auswählen]]

+ * [[abwählen]]

+ * [[wiederwählen]]

+ * [[einwählen]]

+ * [[verwählen]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Wahl]]

+ * [[wollen]]

+ * [[wohl]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Das kleinere Übel wählen'' is to accept the lesser evil, and ''seine Worte wählen'' to choose one's words with care.^(Duden GWDS 1999) Adelung records ''wählen'' in sugar refineries for sorting the different kinds of raw sugar in a barrel.^(Adelung 1793|4, 1339)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}