Sinn German · revision 35172

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=2nd quarter of the 9th century, Old High German glosses|origins=gmw-pro *sinn}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /zɪn/^(Wiktionary)

+ * Austria: /sɪn/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Sinn''' ''m'' (genitive Sinnes or Sinns, plural Sinne)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|sin]], [[inh|goh|sin]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*sinn]].^(Kluge 2011|850)^(EWA|7, 1227)^(Wiktionary) The word is limited to German, Dutch and Frisian: [[gml|sin]], [[dum|sin]], [[ofs|sin]] and [[nl|zin]];^(Kluge 2011|850)^(DWB|16, 1103) the Scandinavian words are probably borrowed from German.^(DWB|16, 1103)

+

+ Kluge finds the etymology unclear.^(Kluge 2011|850) The noun stands beside the strong verb [[goh|sinnan|t=to travel, go, strive after]], also [[ofs|sinna]] and [[ang|sinnan]], but the sense “sense, mind” is recorded earlier than a development from “strive after” would lead one to expect.^(Kluge 2011|850) Outside Germanic it matches [[la|sentiō|t=to feel, perceive]] on one side and [[sga|sét|t=way]] on the other, and Kluge reckons with a mixing of roots.^(Kluge 2011|850)

+

+ Pfeifer, Duden and the Grimms take it as a verbal noun of [[sinnen]] and trace the whole group to [[ine-pro|*sent-|t=to take a direction, go]], with [[goh|sind|t=journey, way]], [[got|𐍃𐌹𐌽𐌸𐍃|tr=sinþs|t=going, time]], [[Gesinde]] and [[senden]]; the shift from “going” to “perceiving” would have taken place before Germanic, as in Latin.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|784)^(DWB|16, 1103)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''sin'' is found in glosses from the second quarter of the 9th century, and in Otfrid, Notker, Psalm 138 and Williram.^(EWA|7, 1227)^(Köbler AHD) It meant “mind, understanding, reason, intention, meaning”, with phrases such as ''sin habên zi'' “to set one's mind on”.^(EWA|7, 1227)^(Schützeichel 2012|281)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Middle High German had ''bī sinne sīn'' “to be in one's senses” and ''von sinnen komen'' “to lose one's mind”.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002) ''Seine fünf Sinne haben'' is recorded from the 15th century, ''im Sinn haben'' “to intend” from the early 17th, and ''Sinn für etwas haben'' “to have a feeling for something” from the 18th.^(Pfeifer 1993) In the 17th and 18th centuries the plural was often ''Sinnen'', as in Goethe's ''Iphigenie'': ''Du hattest mir die Sinnen eingewiegt'' (“you had lulled my senses”).^(Paul 2002) Herder speaks of a ''sechster Sinn'', a sixth sense.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ [[Unsinn]], a back-formation from [[unsinnig]], took on its present sense “nonsense” in the 18th century under the influence of English [[m|en|nonsense]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|784) The word was borrowed early into the Romance languages, as [[it|senno]] and [[fro|sen]] “understanding”.^(DWB|16, 1103)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 2nd quarter of the 9th century – Old High German ''sin'' in glosses.^(EWA|7, 1227)

+ * 15th century – ''seine fünf Sinne haben''.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * Early 17th century – ''im Sinn haben'' “to intend”.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 18th century – ''Sinn für etwas haben'';^(Pfeifer 1993) ''Unsinn'' takes on the sense “nonsense”.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|sense]], one of the faculties of perception, usually in the plural: ''die fünf Sinne''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary) ''Der sechste Sinn'' is an instinct that foresees things;^(Duden GWDS 1999) ''nicht bei Sinnen sein'' is not to be in one's right mind.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(elevated, in the plural)'' Sexual feeling and desire.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # A [[m|en|feeling]] or understanding for something: ''Sie hat viel Sinn für Musik''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Mind, thoughts, way of thinking.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The [[m|en|meaning]] of a word, text or statement.^(Wiktionary)^(Wiktionary DE)

+ # The point or [[m|en|purpose]] of an action: ''Es hat keinen Sinn, jetzt noch zu streiten''.^(Wiktionary)^(Wiktionary DE)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sinnig]]

+ * [[sinnlich]]

+ * [[sinnlos]]

+ * [[sinnvoll]]

+ * [[Unsinn]]

+ * [[unsinnig]]

+ * [[Sinnbild]]

+ * [[sinnreich]]

+ * [[Wahnsinn]]

+ * [[Leichtsinn]]

+ * [[Scharfsinn]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sinnen]]

+ * [[senden]]

+ * [[Gesinde]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}