mehr German · revision 35390

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=8th century|origins=ine-pro *mē-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /meːr/, [meːɐ̯], [mɛɐ̯]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''mehr''' (not inflected; comparative of [[viel]], superlative ''meist'')^(Kluge 2011|612)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|mēr]], [[m|gmh|mēre]], [[inh|goh|mēro]], [[m|goh|mēr]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*maiʀō]], [[inh|gem-pro|*maizô]], the comparative of [[viel]].^(Kluge 2011|612)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary) The same word is [[osx|mēro]], [[non|meiri]] and [[ang|māra]]; [[nl|meer]], [[en|more]] and [[sv|mer]] continue it.^(Kluge 2011|612)^(Orel 2003) The adverb, without an ending and with the regular loss of the final consonant, is [[m|goh|mē]] and [[m|ang|mā]].^(Kluge 2011|612)

+

+ The Germanic form contains the comparative suffix [[gem-pro|*-iz-]], the zero grade of [[ine-pro|*-i̯es-]], added to the stem [[ine-pro|*mē-|t=big, considerable]], which is also the root of [[Märchen]].^(Kluge 2011|612)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2014) Comparable formations outside Germanic are [[sga|mó]] and [[cy|mwy]], and perhaps [[osc|mais]].^(Kluge 2011|612)^(Orel 2003)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German had the adjective ''mēro'' and the adverb ''mēr'' from the 8th century, meaning “more, greater, better, further”.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Köbler AHD) It appears in the Tatian, Otfrid and Notker,^(Köbler AHD) and in the Monsee fragments and the Lorsch confession.^(Schützeichel 2012|220) In Middle High German ''mē(r)'' and ''mēre'' were used at first as nouns, “something larger, a greater amount”.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old High German treated ''mēr'' as a positive and made a new comparative ''mēriro'', Middle High German ''mērer'', which gave ''mehrere'' “several”, and a superlative ''mērste''.^(Pfeifer 1993) Like ''viel'', ''mehr'' became attributive (''mit mehr Glück''), but unlike it stayed uninflected; attempts to inflect it (Jean Paul's ''mehre'') did not last.^(Paul 2002) As an adverb it became the comparative of ''sehr''; already in Middle High German it also meant “any longer”, a sense that lives on after negations (''nicht mehr'', ''nimmer'').^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ''Mehren'' “to increase” is Old High German ''mērōn'' (8th century) and ''vermehren'' dates from the 15th century.^(Pfeifer 1993) ''Mehrheit'' “majority” was coined in 1719 by Kramer after Dutch ''meerderheid'', and ''mehrfach'' “multiple” (around 1800) imitates French ''multiple''.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2014)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 8th century – Old High German ''mēro'', ''mēr''; the verb ''mērōn'' “to increase”.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * c. 1000 – Old High German ''mērheit'' “being more”.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 15th century – ''vermehren''.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1719 – Kramer forms ''Mehrheit'' after Dutch ''meerderheid''.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * c. 1800 – ''mehrfach'' “multiple”.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # [[m|en|more]]: a greater amount or number than a given one: ''wir brauchen mehr Geld'' “we need more money”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # More, to a greater degree.^(Wiktionary)^(Wiktionary DE)

+ # [[m|en|rather]]: ''er ist mehr Dichter als Gelehrter'' “he is more a poet than a scholar”.^(Paul 2002)

+ # With a negation: no longer, not any more: ''er wird niemanden mehr beleidigen'' “he won't insult anyone again”.^(Paul 2002)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[mehren]]

+ * [[vermehren]]

+ * [[mehrere]]

+ * [[Mehrheit]]

+ * [[mehrfach]]

+ * [[Mehrwert]]

+ * [[nimmer]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[meist]]

+ * [[viel]]

+ * [[Märchen]]

+ * [[en|more]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Switzerland the noun ''das Mehr'' means a majority of votes or the result of a vote, a use the Grimms' dictionary quotes from Maaler and Stalder.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(DWB|12, 1887) In south-eastern German ''nur mehr'' means “only … still”.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}