freuen German · revision 35220

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈfʁɔʏ̯ən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''freuen''' (third-person singular present freut, past tense freute, past participle gefreut, auxiliary haben)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|vröuwen]], [[inh|goh|frewen]] (also [[m|goh|frouwen]]), [[inh|gmw-pro|*frauwjan|t=to gladden]].^(Kluge 2011|318)^(EWA|3, 552)^(Wiktionary) It is a factitive verb formed on the adjective [[froh]], Old High German [[m|goh|frō]], so its first sense was “to make glad”.^(Kluge 2011|318)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|287) The adjective goes back to [[gem-pro|*frawaz]].^(EWA|3, 552)^(Köbler AHD)

+

+ The verb is found only in continental West Germanic: [[gml|vrouwen]] and [[dum|vrouwen]].^(EWA|3, 552)^(Pfeifer 1993) Duden calls it a purely German verb.^(Duden 7 2020|287) Köbler compares, with a question mark, the root [[ine-pro|*preu-|t=to jump]].^(Köbler AHD)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''frewen'' is first found in the Isidor translation at the end of the 8th century, and then in the glosses, Otfrid, Notker and Williram.^(Köbler AHD)^(Schützeichel 2012|113) It meant both “to make glad, fill with joy” and, with a reflexive pronoun and the genitive, “to rejoice (in something)”.^(Schützeichel 2012|113)^(EWA|3, 552) The Isidor has ''freuui dhih, Siones dohter'' “rejoice, daughter of Zion”.^(DWB2|9, 1022)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The reflexive use dominated from the start and became the only one after Old High German, while the sense “to make glad” with a personal subject passed to [[erfreuen]].^(DWB2|9, 1022)^(Duden 7 2020|287) The plain verb is transitive today only with a thing or fact as subject, as in ''das freut mich''.^(Duden 7 2020|287)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ From the 15th and 16th centuries the cause of joy was increasingly expressed with prepositions, ''über'', ''an'', ''auf'' and ''mit''.^(DWB2|9, 1022) ''Sich auf etwas freuen'', for something still to come, is recorded by Adelung, while the genitive (''sich des Lebens freuen'') was frequent in Luther's Bible and revived by 18th-century poets, and has been receding in the 20th century.^(Adelung 1793|2, 282)^(DWB2|9, 1022)^(Paul 2002) Usteri's song ''Freut euch des Lebens'' keeps that construction.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * End of the 8th century – Old High German ''frewen'' appears in the Isidor translation.^(Köbler AHD)^(DWB2|9, 1022)

+ * 9th century – ''frouwen'' is used by Otfrid.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Schützeichel 2012|115)

+ * 15th–16th centuries – Constructions with ''über'', ''an'', ''auf'' and ''mit'' spread.^(DWB2|9, 1022)

+ * 1793 – Adelung records ''sich auf etwas freuen'' for a future event.^(Adelung 1793|2, 282)

+ * 20th century – The genitive construction declines.^(DWB2|9, 1022)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(reflexive)'' To be [[m|en|glad]], feel joy; with ''über'' about something present or past: ''sie freute sich über den Brief''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(reflexive)'' With ''auf'': to [[m|en|look forward to]] something: ''wir freuen uns auf die Ferien''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(reflexive)'' With ''für'': to be happy for someone.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(reflexive)'' With ''an'': to take pleasure in something;^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary) ''(literary)'' with the genitive, to enjoy.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To [[m|en|please]], give joy to someone: ''es freut mich, dass es dir besser geht''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[erfreuen]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[froh]]

+ * [[Freude]]

+ * [[fröhlich]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Freut mich'' is a polite formula on being introduced to someone, and ''hat mich gefreut'' on taking leave.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}