Richtung German · revision 35115

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=2nd half of the 18th century|origins=ine-pro *h₃reǵ-}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈʁɪçtʊŋ/, [ˈʁɪçtʰʊŋ]^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Forms==

+ '''Richtung''' ''f'' (genitive Richtung, plural Richtungen)^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|de|richten|-ung]], from the verb in its sense “to align, aim”, and is recorded in its present meaning from the 18th century.^(Kluge 2011|766)^(Pfeifer 1993) The same formation existed much earlier as [[gmh|rihtunge|t=judgement, settlement]] and [[goh|rihtunga|t=court, rule, government]], but those nouns belonged to other senses of the verb that have since disappeared.^(Kluge 2011|766)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden GWDS 1999) Wiktionary traces the word in an unbroken line through these forms to [[gmw-pro|*rihtungu]].^(Wiktionary)

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+ The verb [[richten]] is a Germanic factitive “to make straight” formed from the adjective [[recht]], also found in [[got|𐌲𐌰𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍄𐌾𐌰𐌽|tr=garaihtjan]], [[non|rétta]] and [[ang|rihtan]].^(Kluge 2011|766)^(Pfeifer 1993) The adjective is an old participle of [[ine-pro|*h₃reǵ-|alt=*reǵ-|t=to direct, guide]], like [[la|rēctus|t=straight]].^(Kluge 2011|751) The Grimms note that the noun is found mainly in German, and elsewhere only in [[non|rétting]] and [[ang|rihting]].^(DWB|14, 905)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''rihtunga'' is found from the end of the 8th century in glosses, in the Benedictine Rule and in the ''Muspilli'', meaning “court of justice” and “(monastic) rule”.^(Köbler AHD)^(Schützeichel 2012|261)^(Pfeifer 1993) Middle High German ''rihtunge'' meant a court's judgement, the settling of a dispute and a peace treaty.^(Lexer 1872|2, 437) The modern word first meant “straightening, upright posture” in the second half of the 18th century: in 1774 Mastalier, translating Horace, describes a young nobleman sitting on his horse ''ohne richtung'' “without any bearing”.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB|14, 905)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Early New High German ''richtung'' still meant chiefly a legal decision, an arbitration, a settlement or compensation, beside “orientation towards something”.^(FWB) The modern sense, the course of a movement towards a goal, appears at the end of the 18th century, and the Duden dictionary dates the word as a whole to about 1800.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2007) In the early 19th century it came to mean a trend or movement in culture and politics.^(Pfeifer 1993) Dutch ''richting'' (1786) and Polish ''rycht'' “direction of fire” (1849) are counted among German loans.^(LWP)

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+ In informal German, ''Richtung'' is also used without a preposition before a place name or a point of the compass, as a shortening of ''in Richtung''.^(Wiktionary)^(Duden GWDS 1999)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * End of the 8th century – Old High German ''rihtunga'' “court, rule” appears in glosses.^(Köbler AHD)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1774 – The modern word is used for “upright posture”.^(DWB|14, 905)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * End of the 18th century – The sense “direction, course” appears.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * Early 19th century – The sense “trend, movement” in culture and politics appears.^(Pfeifer 1993)

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+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|direction]], the line along which something moves towards a goal: ''Sie fuhren in die falsche Richtung.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(military)'' Alignment of a formation in a straight line.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # A [[m|en|trend]] or school within a field of thought, art or politics: ''eine neue Richtung in der Malerei''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

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+ ===Preposition===

+ # ''(informal)'' [[m|en|towards]], in the direction of, without implying arrival: ''Der Zug fährt Richtung Hamburg.''^(Wiktionary)^(Duden GWDS 1999)

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+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Fahrtrichtung]]

+ * [[Gegenrichtung]]

+ * [[Himmelsrichtung]]

+ * [[Windrichtung]]

+ * [[Geschmacksrichtung]]

+ * [[Richtungswechsel]]

+ * [[richtungsweisend]]

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[richten]]

+ * [[recht]]

+ * [[Richter]]

+ * [[richtig]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ In the informal prepositional use the following noun stays uninflected, because it was originally in apposition to ''Richtung'' in the phrase ''in Richtung''.^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}