stimmen German · revision 35258

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈʃtɪmən/, [ˈʃtimɛn], [ˈʃtɪmn̩]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''stimmen''' (third-person singular present stimmt, past tense stimmte, past participle gestimmt, auxiliary haben)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|stimmen]], formed from [[Stimme]] “voice”.^(Kluge 2011|886)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary) Kluge and the Grimms' dictionary see in it a merger.^(Kluge 2011|886)^(DWB|18, 3088) On the one hand there is the verb made from the noun itself, “to make one's voice heard, to call”, which lives on in [[anstimmen]] and [[bestimmen]]; on the other there is [[goh|gistimnen|t=to sing together, strike up]], made from the adjective [[m|goh|gistimmi|t=harmonious, having the same voice]], which gave “to be in tune, agree” and the tuning of instruments.^(Kluge 2011|886)^(DWB|18, 3088) The sense “to vote” is recent, a loan translation of [[votieren]], since the noun rendered [[la|vōtum|t=vow, vote]].^(Kluge 2011|886)

+

+ The noun is [[goh|stimna]], [[m|goh|stimma]], [[gem-pro|*stemnō|t=voice]], the same word as [[got|𐍃𐍄𐌹𐌱𐌽𐌰|tr=stibna]], [[ang|stefn]], [[ofs|stifne]] and [[osx|stemna]].^(Kluge 2011|886)^(Pfeifer 1993) Kluge thinks it most likely an extension of a word for “mouth”, as in [[grc|στόμα|tr=stóma]] and [[ae|staman-|t=muzzle]], and Pfeifer finds the link possible,^(Kluge 2011|886)^(Pfeifer 1993) while Duden and Orel call its origin unknown.^(Duden 7 2007)^(Orel 2003)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''gistimnen'' “to strike up, sing together” is recorded in glosses of the first quarter of the 9th century;^(Köbler AHD)^(Pfeifer 1993) Pfeifer dates it to the 8th.^(Köbler AHD)^(Pfeifer 1993) Middle High German ''stimmen'' meant “to make one's voice heard, to call”, “to give a voice to”, “to make sound alike”, “to name” and “to fix, assess”, as in ''ein zît gestimmet'' “a time fixed”.^(Lexer 1872|2, 1199)^(Köbler MHD)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Pfeifer dates the musical sense “to tune” to the 16th century, “to vote for someone or something” to the 17th and “to put someone in a certain mood” to the 18th;^(Pfeifer 1993) Duden places the voting sense in the 16th century, as it does the intransitive “to agree, be right”, and notes that “to put in a mood” was transferred from instruments to the human mind.^(Duden 7 2007) [[anstimmen]] and [[zustimmen]] date from the 16th century, [[abstimmen]] and [[beistimmen]] from the 17th, and [[übereinstimmen]] from the 16th.^(Pfeifer 1993) [[Stimmung]] was first said of instruments (16th century) and, from the 18th of a state of mind.^(Duden 7 2007)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ Danish ''stemme'' and Swedish ''stämma'' were taken from German,^(DWB|18, 3088) and the verb was borrowed into Hungarian as ''stimmel'' (1817) “to tune an instrument” and into the Polish of Cieszyn as ''sztymować'' (1935).^(LWP)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * First quarter of the 9th century – Old High German ''gistimnen'' in glosses.^(Köbler AHD)

+ * Middle High German – ''stimmen'' “to call; to name; to fix”.^(Lexer 1872|2, 1199)

+ * 16th century – “to tune” an instrument;^(Pfeifer 1993) ''anstimmen'', ''zustimmen''.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 16th–17th century – “to vote”.^(Duden 7 2007)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 18th century – “to put in a mood”;^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2007) ''Stimmung'' “state of mind”.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2007)

+ * 1817 – Hungarian ''stimmel''.^(LWP)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To be [[m|en|true]] or [[m|en|correct]]: ''Die Zahlen stimmen.'' ''Stimmt!'' “That's right!”^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To be in order, give no cause for complaint: ''Die Abrechnung stimmt.'' ''Stimmt so!'' “Keep the change!”^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(less common)'' To fit, match: ''Die Beschreibung stimmt auf den Verdächtigen.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # To put someone in a certain [[m|en|mood]]: ''Der Brief stimmte sie nachdenklich.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(music)'' To [[m|en|tune]] an instrument: ''eine Gitarre stimmen''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To [[m|en|vote]]: ''für den Antrag stimmen''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[abstimmen]]

+ * [[anstimmen]]

+ * [[beistimmen]]

+ * [[bestimmen]]

+ * [[einstimmen]]

+ * [[übereinstimmen]]

+ * [[überstimmen]]

+ * [[umstimmen]]

+ * [[verstimmen]]

+ * [[zustimmen]]

+ * [[zusammenstimmen]]

+ * [[stimmig]]

+ * [[Stimmung]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Stimme]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}