wünschen German · revision 35292

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 765, Old High German glosses|origins=ine-pro *wenh₁-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈvʏnʃən/, [ˈvʏnʃn̩]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''wünschen''' (third-person singular present wünscht, past tense wünschte, past participle gewünscht, auxiliary haben)^(Wiktionary)

+ From the 15th century, and more often in the 16th and 17th, the verb was also written with an inserted consonant, ''wündschen'' or ''wüntschen''.^(DWB|30, 2038) Upper German sometimes has a strong participle ''gewunschen'', as in Abraham a Sancta Clara (1690).^(DWB|30, 2038)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|wünschen]], [[inh|goh|wunsken]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*wunskijan]], [[inh|gem-pro|*wunskijaną|t=to wish]].^(Wiktionary)^(Kroonen 2013)^(Duden 7 2020|940) The same verb is [[non|œskja]], [[ang|wȳscan]], [[en|wish]], [[dum|wunscen]] and [[nl|wensen]].^(Kroonen 2013)^(DWB|30, 2038)

+

+ It was formed from the noun [[Wunsch]], [[gem-pro|*wunskaz]], also found in [[goh|wunsc]] and [[non|ósk]].^(Kluge 2011|996)^(Kroonen 2013)^(Duden 7 2020|940) Kluge notes that the noun itself seems to go back to a verbal formation in -sk-, like [[sa|वांछ्|tr=vāṃch|t=to wish, desire]],^(Kluge 2011|996)^(Wiktionary) and Kroonen reconstructs that verb as a present of the type [[ine-pro|*Hnh₁-ske-]].^(Kroonen 2013) The root is [[ine-pro|*wenh₁-|t=to strive for, wish, love]], also behind [[gewinnen]], [[Wonne]] and [[wohnen]], and, outside Germanic, in [[la|venus|t=love, charm]].^(Kluge 2011|996)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary) In Old English and Old Norse the /n/ was lost before /s/ with lengthening of the vowel.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''wunsken'' is first recorded in glosses of about 765, and then in Otfrid and Notker, meaning “to wish, long for, desire”.^(Köbler AHD)^(Adelung 1793|4, 1625)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Middle High German the verb usually took a genitive of the thing wished for, as in the Old Testament poem of Exodus: ''swes wunschet dîn muot'' “whatever your heart wishes”.^(Lexer 1872|3, 998) Its noun [[Wunsch]] then meant above all the power to create something extraordinary, personified as the giver of all perfection, and only later the personal longing.^(Lexer 1872|3, 997)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ Folk belief knew a magic wishing, as in the Grimms' ''Froschkönig'': ''In den alten Zeiten, wo das Wünschen noch geholfen hat'' (“In the old days, when wishing still helped”); the idea survives in [[verwünschen]] “to curse, bewitch”.^(Paul 2002) The [[Wünschelrute]], the divining rod, is first recorded in 1532.^(Paul 2002) Polite use made the verb a way of making a request, as in a shop assistant's ''Sie wünschen?'' “what can I get you?”.^(Duden GWDS 1999) The verb was borrowed as [[cs|vinšovat]] and [[sl|voščiti|t=to wish]].^(LWP)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 765 – Old High German ''wunsken'' appears in glosses.^(Köbler AHD)

+ * c. 1120–1130 – Middle High German ''wünschen'' is used in the Old Testament poem of Exodus.^(Köbler MHD)

+ * 15th century – Spellings with an inserted consonant, ''wündschen'', appear.^(DWB|30, 2038)

+ * 1532 – First record of ''Wünschelrute''.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1690 – Abraham a Sancta Clara uses the strong participle ''gewunschen''.^(DWB|30, 2038)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|wish]] for, hope for: ''Zum Geburtstag wünscht sie sich ein neues Fahrrad.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To want, request, as something one has a claim to: ''Der Kunde wünscht eine schriftliche Bestätigung.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To wish someone something: ''Wir wünschen euch eine gute Reise!''^(Wiktionary)^(Wiktionary DE)

+ # ''(formal, chiefly negative)'' Not to [[m|en|tolerate]]: ''Ich wünsche hier keinen Lärm.''^(Wiktionary)^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Wünschelrute]]

+ * [[verwünschen]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Wunsch]]

+ * [[Wonne]]

+ * [[gewinnen]]

+ * [[wohnen]]

+ * [[en|wish]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The fixed phrase ''etwas lässt zu wünschen übrig'' means that something is not good enough, and ''etwas lässt nichts zu wünschen übrig'' that it is fully satisfactory.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}