wenn German · revision 35383

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=9th century, Old High German|origins=ine-pro *kʷo-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /vɛn/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''wenn''' (subordinating)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|wenne]], [[inh|goh|hwenne]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*hwan]].^(Kluge 2011|982)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary) It is a variant of [[wann]], whose functions were differentiated only later.^(Kluge 2011|982) The two are the form without umlaut and the umlauted form of one Old High German word, [[m|goh|hwanne]] beside [[m|goh|hwenne]], and in the older language had the same meanings and uses.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB|29, 51)

+

+ Related are [[osx|hwanna]], [[gml|wanne]] and [[ang|hwanne]] beside [[m|ang|hwenne]], the source of English [[m|en|when]], which is only temporal.^(Pfeifer 1993) Forms without the extension ⟨-ne⟩ are [[m|osx|hwan]], [[dum|wan]] and [[got|𐍈𐌰𐌽|tr=ƕan|t=when, how]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020) All are formed with an ⟨n⟩ suffix from the pronoun stem of [[wer]], [[gem-pro|*hwa-]], from [[ine-pro|*kʷo-|t=who, what]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Kroonen 2013)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''hwanne'' is found in glosses perhaps as early as 765, and ''hwenne'' in the 9th century.^(Köbler AHD)^(Pfeifer 1993) The Old High German word was mainly an adverb, “when, ever, at some time, once, until”.^(Schützeichel 2012|371)^(Köbler AHD) In the phrase ''sō hwanne sō'' (about 800) it was a conjunction, first temporal, “as soon as, whenever”, then conditional, “if”.^(Pfeifer 1993) Paul finds the temporal sense “as soon as” already in Isidor, “whenever” in Notker, and the conditional sense from the 11th century.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Late Old High German had ''so wenne'' beside ''so wanne'', and the short forms ''wenne'', ''wen'' prevail in some manuscripts of the 14th century.^(DWB|29, 51) The present split, with ''wann'' an adverb “at what time” and ''wenn'' a conjunction “if, when”, was first drawn by Gottsched in 1748 and became general only in the 19th century.^(Paul 2002)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020) In some regions, especially Austria, ''wann'' is still used for ''wenn''.^(Paul 2002)

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+ Concessive ''wenn … auch'' “even if”, wishes such as ''wenn sie nur käme!'' “if only she would come!”, and ''als wenn'', ''wie wenn'' “as if” (from 1565) were added to the temporal and conditional uses.^(Paul 2002) The noun ''Wenn'' “condition, reservation” is found in Herder and Bürger.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 765? – Old High German ''hwanne'' in glosses.^(Köbler AHD)

+ * c. 800 – ''sō hwanne sō'' is used as a conjunction.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 9th century – The form ''hwenne'' appears.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Kluge 2011|982)

+ * 11th century – First conditional use.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1482 – The Nuremberg ''Vocabularius theutonicus'' is the first dictionary to enter the form ''wenn''.^(DWB|29, 51)

+ * 1565 – ''als wenn'', ''wie wenn'' “as if” is first recorded.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1748 – Gottsched separates ''wenn'' (condition) from ''wann'' (time).^(Paul 2002)

+ * 19th century – The distinction becomes general.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Conjunction===

+ # [[m|en|if]]: on condition that, in case.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # [[m|en|when]], as soon as.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # [[m|en|whenever]], every time that.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(with auch, schon)'' Even if, [[m|en|although]].^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Paul 2002)

+ # ''(with doch, nur)'' If only: introduces a wish.^(Paul 2002)

+ # ''(als wenn, wie wenn)'' As if.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Wenn]]

+ * [[wenngleich]]

+ * [[wennschon]]

+ * [[wenns]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[wann]]

+ * [[wer]]

+ * [[was]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Ohne Wenn und Aber'' means “without reservations”.^(Duden GWDS 1999) ''Wenn das Wörtchen wenn nicht wär'' (“if the little word if did not exist”) is a mild retort to excuses.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}