Gesetz German · revision 35341

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=8th century, Old High German glosses (as gisezzida)|origins=gmw-pro *sattjan}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ɡəˈzɛt͡s/, /ɡ̥eˈsɛt͡s/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Gesetz''' ''n'' (genitive Gesetzes, plural Gesetze)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|gesetze]], a noun formed in Middle High German from [[setzen]] in the sense “to fix, determine, ordain”, so that it means “what has been laid down”.^(Kluge 2011|354)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2014|335) Pfeifer also allows a collective formation to [[Satz]].^(Pfeifer 1993) [[Satzung]] shows a similar development of sense.^(Kluge 2011|354)^(Duden 7 2014|335)

+

+ The older noun was [[goh|gisezzida|t=arrangement, decree, law]], continued in [[gmh|gesetzede]], a verbal abstract of [[m|goh|gisezzen]] with the suffix [[m|goh|-ida]];^(EWA|4, 390)^(Kluge 2011|354) the same noun is [[osx|gisetitha]].^(EWA|4, 390)^(Kluge 2011|354) The verb continues [[gmw-pro|*sattjan|t=to set, put down]].^(Wiktionary) The word is found only in German.^(Pfeifer 1993) The new noun gradually displaced the older one, and also [[goh|ēwa|t=law]], the old West Germanic word for law, which survives in [[Ehe]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2014|335)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''gisezzida'' is recorded from glosses of about 765 and in Notker, with senses such as arrangement, institution, decree and law, rendering Latin ''lex'', ''decretum'' and ''statutum''.^(Köbler AHD)^(EWA|4, 390) Middle High German ''gesetze'' appears about 1200–1210 in Wolfram's ''Parzival'', meaning a fixed rule, ordinance or decree.^(Köbler MHD)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Early New High German ''gesatz'' was very common in the 15th and 16th centuries, and the spelling ''Gesätz'' arose under its influence.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB|5, 4070) Luther still wrote ''das gesetze'' beside ''gesetz''.^(DWB|5, 4070) In religious use ''das Gesetz'' was the law of God and especially the five books of Moses.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ As a legal term it became established from Middle High German on;^(Paul 2002) Adelung defined it in 1775, in the spirit of absolutism, as a general rule of a superior backed by punishment.^(Paul 2002) With the Enlightenment and the constitutional state the modern sense developed, a rule passed with the consent of the representatives of the people, contrasted with an ordinance (''Verordnung'').^(Paul 2002) The sense “law of nature, principle governing phenomena” stands beside it.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary) ''Ungeschriebenes Gesetz'' (18th century), a rule that has grown out of custom, follows [[grc|ἄγραφος νόμος|tr=ágraphos nómos|t=unwritten law]].^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Timeline==

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

+ * 1200–1210 – Middle High German ''gesetze'' in Wolfram's ''Parzival''.^(Köbler MHD)

+ * 14th century – ''Gesetzbuch'' and, according to Pfeifer, ''Gesetzgeber'' are recorded.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1376 – ''gesatz'' in the Augsburg chronicles.^(DWB|5, 4070)

+ * 15th century – ''gesetzlich'' is recorded.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2014|335)

+ * 18th century – ''gesetzwidrig'' and ''ungeschriebenes Gesetz'' are recorded.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1819 – A constitution states that no law can be passed without the consent of the estates.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|law]] or [[m|en|statute]]: a legally binding rule laid down by the state: ''Das neue Gesetz tritt im Januar in Kraft.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' A law book, a collection of laws: ''Das steht so im Gesetz.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A law of nature or principle inherent in something, a fixed connection between phenomena: ''das Gesetz von Angebot und Nachfrage''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A fixed rule or guiding [[m|en|principle]]: ''Pünktlichkeit war für sie oberstes Gesetz.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary DE)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[gesetzlich]]

+ * [[Gesetzbuch]]

+ * [[Gesetzgeber]]

+ * [[Gesetzgebung]]

+ * [[Gesetzentwurf]]

+ * [[gesetzmäßig]]

+ * [[gesetzwidrig]]

+ * [[gesetzlos]]

+ * [[Grundgesetz]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[setzen]]

+ * [[Satz]]

+ * [[Satzung]]

+ * [[Ehe]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Vor dem Gesetz sind alle gleich'' (“all are equal before the law”) echoes Article 3 of the Grundgesetz.^(Paul 2002)^(Duden GWDS 1999) ''Das Gesetz der Serie'' is the supposed likelihood that something that has always happened will go on happening, and ''ein Gesetz der Meder und Perser'' an unalterable rule.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}