drohen German · revision 35350

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=8th century, Old High German glosses|origins=ine-pro *treu-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈdʁoːən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''drohen''' (third-person singular present droht, past tense drohte, past participle gedroht, auxiliary haben)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|drōn]], [[inh|goh|drouwen|t=to threaten, rebuke]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*þrawjan|t=to threaten]].^(Kluge 2011|217)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Köbler AHD) The modern form goes back to a contracted by-form of [[m|gmh|dröuwen]], shaped by the noun [[m|gmh|drō|t=threat]]; the regular outcome is [[dräuen]], now archaic.^(Kluge 2011|217)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2014|233) The ⟨h⟩ only marks the long vowel.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ Related West Germanic verbs are [[osx|githrōon]], [[gml|drouwen]], [[ofs|thrūwan]] and [[ang|þrēagan|t=to rebuke, punish, threaten]] beside [[m|ang|þrēan]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Kluge 2011|217) Kroonen derives the verb from the noun seen in [[non|þrá|t=longing]] and [[ang|þrēa|t=rebuke, threat, punishment]], reconstructing [[ine-pro|*trouH-]] and comparing [[lt|trivóti|t=to endure]].^(Kroonen 2013)

+

+ Kluge, Pfeifer and Duden place it under [[ine-pro|*treu-|t=to push, press, oppress]], beside [[grc|τρύω|tr=trúō|t=I wear out, exhaust]], with a development from “rub, crush” to “press hard, threaten”;^(Kluge 2011|217)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2014|233) Pfeifer also compares [[ru|травить|tr=travítʹ|t=to destroy, hunt]].^(Kluge 2011|217)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2014|233) [[en|threaten|alt=Threaten]] belongs to an extension of that root, treated under [[verdrießen]].^(Kluge 2011|217)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''throuwen'' is recorded from the 8th century and ''threwen'' around 800, meaning to threaten and to rebuke;^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Köbler AHD) Köbler lists it in glosses from 765, the Benedictine Rule and Notker, with the senses threaten, scold and reprimand.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Köbler AHD) The noun ''throuwunga'' “threat” is also of the 8th century.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Early New High German the verb still had forms with -w- (''trauwen'', ''tröuwen''), and it covered a threat of punishment by an authority as much as threats of violence and bullying behaviour.^(FWB)^(Paul 2002) Geiler von Kaysersberg distinguished a good threatening, as when a mother ''dem kind tröwet'' or a schoolmaster threatens a pupil.^(Paul 2002) From the 16th century the form ''drohen'' pushed back the umlauted ''dräuen'', helped by the old noun ''drō'', which itself went out of use in Early New High German.^(Paul 2002)^(FWB)

+

+ Adelung describes the transferred use for things that may cause harm, as a house that threatens to collapse; from it comes the modern sense “to be imminent”, as in ''es droht Gefahr''.^(Adelung 1793)^(Duden GWDS 1999) Derivatives are ''Drohung'', ''Drohbrief'' (early 15th century) and ''bedrohen'' (15th century), with ''Bedrohung'' from the 16th.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 8th century – Old High German ''throuwen'' is recorded.^(Kluge 2011|217)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * c. 800 – The form ''threwen'' is recorded.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * Early 15th century – ''Drohbrief'' “threatening letter”.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 15th century – ''bedrohen'' appears beside older ''bedräuen''.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1482 – A German–Latin vocabulary lists ''Drouwen''.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 16th century – ''drohen'' begins to displace ''dräuen''.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|threaten]] or try to [[m|en|intimidate]] someone with gestures or words: ''der Wirt drohte den Jungen mit dem Besen''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To announce something unpleasant if one's demands are not met: ''der Vermieter drohte mit einer Klage''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # Of something dangerous, to be [[m|en|imminent]], to [[m|en|loom]]: ''der Stadt droht ein Hochwasser''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To be in danger of doing something: ''das alte Dach drohte einzustürzen''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bedrohen]]

+ * [[Drohbrief]]

+ * [[Drohung]]

+ * [[androhen]]

+ * [[Drohgebärde]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[dräuen]]

+ * [[verdrießen]]

+ * [[drehen]]

+ * [[en|threaten]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Adelung records the proverb ''Wer drohet, der schlägt nicht'' (“he who threatens does not strike”).^(Adelung 1793) The old form ''dräuen'' now appears only in poetic or jocularly old-fashioned style.^(Paul 2002)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}