Grüne German · revision 35219

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=early 9th century, Old High German glosses|origins=gem-pro *grōaną}}

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Grüne''' ''f'' (genitive Grüne, plural Grünen)^(Wiktionary)

+ The neuter ''das Grüne'', the noun use of the adjective, is declined like an adjective (''im Grünen'', ''ins Grüne'').^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The feminine is [[inh|gmh|grüene]], [[inh|goh|gruonī]], an abstract noun formed with the suffix /-ī/ from the adjective [[grün]], like Old High German [[m|goh|rōtī|t=redness]].^(DWB|9, 933)^(Wiktionary)^(Köbler AHD) It corresponds to [[gml|grȫne]] and [[dum|groene]]; with a dental suffix, the same base gave [[nl|groente]].^(DWB|9, 933)

+

+ The adjective, [[m|goh|gruoni]], [[gem-pro|*grōniz]], was formed with the suffix /-ni-/ from the verb [[gem-pro|*grōaną|t=to grow]], continued in [[ang|grōwan]] and [[en|grow]]; it first meant “growing, sprouting” and only then the colour of young plants.^(Kluge 2011|378)^(EWA|4, 667)^(Pfeifer 1993) Pfeifer and Duden take the verb back to a root [[ine-pro|*gʰer-|t=to stick out]], which also gave [[Gras]] and [[Granne]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2007)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''gruonī'' is first found in glosses at the beginning of the 9th century, and in Notker; it meant “green, green turf, green meadow, fresh growth”.^(Köbler AHD)^(Schützeichel 2012|134) The earliest records already use it concretely for green plants and for ground covered with them.^(DWB|9, 933)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Middle High German ''grüene'' meant greenness, literal and figurative, and land covered with green;^(Lexer 1872|1, 1098)^(DWB|9, 933) ''des meien kunft mit grüene'' “the coming of May with its green” is in ''Lohengrin''.^(Lexer 1872|1, 1098)^(DWB|9, 933) Early New High German also used it for foliage and grass, a meadow or tournament ground, open country, the freshness of youth, innocence and the unripeness of fruit.^(FWB)

+

+ The feminine was common until about 1800, then withdrew into poetry, displaced by the neuters ''das Grün'' and ''das Grüne''; it survives in some Upper German dialects and in many place and field names.^(DWB|9, 933) The neuter spread from the 16th century, in ''im Grünen'' “in the open country” and ''ins Grüne fahren'' “to go out into the country”.^(Pfeifer 1993) Adelung knew the feminine only as a regional word for fresh grass and green crops, and as a miners' name for verdigris.^(Adelung 1793|2, 838)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Early 9th century – Old High German ''gruonī'' appears in glosses.^(Köbler AHD)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1480 – A Latin–German vocabulary glosses ''viror'' with ''die grune''.^(DWB|9, 933)

+ * 16th century – The neuter ''das Grüne'' spreads, with ''im Grünen''.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * About 1800 – The feminine retreats into poetic language.^(DWB|9, 933)

+ * Second half of the 20th century – ''grün'' takes the sense “ecological”.^(Duden 7 2007)

+ * 1982 – Dutch records ''groenen'' “supporters of the environmental party”.^(LWP)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(feminine, dated or poetic)'' [[m|en|greenness]], green colour.^(Wiktionary)^(DWB|9, 933)

+ # ''(feminine, regional)'' Fresh grass, green crops.^(Adelung 1793|2, 838)^(DWB|9, 933)

+ # ''(neuter, das Grüne)'' Green colour: ''der Stoff spielt ins Grüne''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(neuter, colloquial)'' Green plants, [[m|en|greenery]]; salad and vegetables, herbs; green [[m|en|fodder]].^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(neuter)'' The open country, in ''im Grünen'' and ''ins Grüne''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[grün]]

+ * [[grünen]]

+ * [[Gras]]

+ * [[en|green]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Im Grünen wohnen'' is to live out in the country, and ''ins Grüne fahren'' to go on an outing into the countryside.^(Duden GWDS 1999) Since the second half of the 20th century the adjective has also meant “ecological”,^(Duden 7 2007) and in that sense the plural ''die Grünen'' names the environmental party;^(LWP) Dutch took ''groenen'' “supporters of the environmental party” in 1982.^(LWP)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}