gründen German · revision 35274

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 1000, Notker|origins=gem-pro *grunduz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈɡʁʏndn̩/, /ˈɡʁʏndən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''gründen''' (third-person singular present gründet, past tense gründete, past participle gegründet, auxiliary haben)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|gründen]], [[inh|goh|grunten|t=to fathom, explore]], a verb formed from the noun [[m|goh|grunt|t=ground, bottom]], the ancestor of [[Grund]].^(Kluge 2011|378)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB|9, 774)^(Wiktionary) The umlaut is regular for a verb of this kind, made with a /j/ suffix.^(DWB|9, 774) Forms without umlaut appear now and then in dialects and in rhyme.^(DWB|9, 774)

+

+ Wiktionary reconstructs a [[gmw-pro|*grundijan]] and [[gem-pro|*grundijaną]].^(Wiktionary) The Grimms' dictionary, by contrast, finds the Old High German verb only in Notker and [[ang|gryndan]] rare and unsteady in meaning, and holds that the English verb [[m|en|ground]] was formed separately, so that no older West Germanic verb need be assumed; it was later Middle High German that gave the verb wider currency.^(DWB|9, 774)

+

+ The noun goes back to [[gem-pro|*grunduz|t=ground, bottom]], found also in [[osx|grund]], [[ang|grund]], [[non|grunnr]] and [[ofs|grund]].^(Kluge 2011|378)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(EWA|4, 657) Kluge considers its further origin unexplained: [[sga|grindell|t=bottom of a lake]] and [[lt|pagrindas|alt=pãgrindas|t=foundation]] are possible comparisons, but neither fits the Germanic forms well.^(Kluge 2011|378) Pfeifer and Duden assume an original sense “coarse sand, ground-up earth” and connect it with [[ine-pro|*gʰrendʰ-|t=to grind]], the root of [[Grind]] and English [[m|en|grind]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2007)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''grunten'' is recorded about 1000 in Notker, meaning “to fathom, explore, explain, lay a foundation”.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Köbler AHD) In Middle High German ''gründen'' meant “to find the bottom, get to the bottom of something”, “to set on a firm foundation” and “to explain thoroughly”; the town chronicles have ''ûf etw. gegründet sîn'' “to rest on something”.^(Lexer 1872|1, 1101)^(Köbler MHD)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Early New High German used ''gründen'' for reaching the bottom of water and gaining footing, for laying a foundation stone, building and founding a town, for resting a thing on a secure basis and for relying on something.^(FWB) The sense of fathoming passed to [[ergründen]];^(Adelung 1793)^(Pfeifer 1993) Adelung still knew ''der Teich ist nicht zu gründen'' “the pond has no bottom one can reach” as an everyday phrase, and craftsmen used ''gründen'' for priming a surface with a first coat.^(Adelung 1793)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ The agent noun ''Gründer'' appears in the 17th century, and ''Gründerjahre'' and ''Gründerzeit'' were coined in the 19th century for the boom years after 1871.^(Pfeifer 1993) In colloquial use ''sich gründen'' now also means “to form, come into being”, of a group.^(Duden GWDS 1999) Czech borrowed ''gründer'' “entrepreneur, company founder”, and Slovene ''gruntati'' “to brood”.^(LWP)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – Old High German ''grunten'' “to fathom, explain” is used by Notker.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Köbler AHD)

+ * 13th century – Middle High German ''gründen'' is recorded in ''Biterolf'' and the ''Wartburgkrieg''.^(Köbler MHD)

+ * 17th century – ''Gründer'' “founder” is recorded.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 19th century – ''Gründerjahre'' and ''Gründerzeit'' name the period after 1871.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(transitive)'' To [[m|en|found]], [[m|en|establish]]: to bring a party, company, club or town into being: ''Die Firma wurde 1952 gegründet.'' ''Eine Familie gründen'' is to marry and have children.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(reflexive, colloquial)'' To form, to be founded: ''Die Bürgerinitiative hat sich im Frühjahr gegründet.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(transitive, with auf)'' To base something on something: ''Sie gründete ihre Klage auf ein altes Gutachten.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(intransitive or reflexive, with auf or in)'' To rest on, be grounded in: ''Sein Erfolg gründet sich auf jahrelange Arbeit.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[begründen]]

+ * [[ergründen]]

+ * [[Gründer]]

+ * [[Gründung]]

+ * [[Gründerzeit]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Grund]]

+ * [[gründlich]]

+ * [[grundieren]]

+ * [[en|ground]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}