was German · revision 35396

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /vas/, /vaːs/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''was''' (pronoun, neuter; genitive ''wessen'')^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is the neuter of [[wer]]: [[inh|gmh|waz]], [[inh|goh|waz]] (also [[m|goh|hwaz]]), [[inh|gmw-pro|*hwat]], [[inh|gem-pro|*hwat|t=what]], [[inh|ine-pro|*kʷod]].^(Kluge 2011|972)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary) The same word is [[non|hvat]], [[ang|hwæt]], [[osx|hwat]] and [[ofs|hwet]], and it survives in [[nl|wat]], [[en|what]] and [[sv|vad]].^(Kluge 2011|972)^(Pfeifer 1993) The sound history of the Gothic neuter is disputed.^(Kluge 2011|972)^(Orel 2003)

+

+ The Indo-European form is also [[la|quod]], with the dental ending of the neuter pronouns that is also seen in [[grc|τό|tr=tó|t=the]].^(Pfeifer 1993) It is built on the pronominal stem [[ine-pro|*kʷo-]], to which [[wie]], [[wo]] and [[wann]] also belong.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|928)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''hwaz'', ''waz'' is recorded from the 8th century; the initial ''h'' was lost from the 9th century.^(Kluge 2011|972)^(Pfeifer 1993) Old High German used it as an interrogative “what, which”, with a genitive “what kind of”, as a relative “that which”, as an indefinite “something”, and as an adverb “how, how much”;^(Schützeichel 2012|374) ''zi wiu'' meant “why”.^(Schützeichel 2012|374)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From Middle High German ''was'' could also mean “why” (''Mein Sohn, was birgst du so bang dein Gesicht'' in Goethe's “Erlkönig”) and, in exclamations, “how much”.^(Paul 2002) In Middle High German and Early New High German, and sometimes until the 18th century, it took a partitive genitive (''waz râtes'' “what counsel”); this was replaced by ''welch'' or ''was für''.^(Paul 2002) It was formerly also used in asking the time: ''Was stund ist es?'' (Maaler, 1561), ''Was ist die Glocke?'' (Schiller).^(Paul 2002)

+

+ Adelung objected to separating ''was'' from ''für'' in ''was für'' “what kind of”, common as it was in ordinary speech.^(Adelung 1793|4, 1393) In colloquial German ''was'' is used with prepositions where the standard language has a compound (''an was'' for ''woran''), and also for ''etwas'' “something”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 8th century – Old High German ''hwaz'' is first recorded.^(Kluge 2011|972)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 9th century – The initial ''h'' is lost.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1561 – Maaler records ''was'' in asking the time: ''Was stund ist es?''.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # ''(interrogative)'' [[m|en|what|alt=What]]: ''was ist das?'' “what is that?”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(relative)'' That, which, after ''das'', ''alles'', ''etwas'', ''nichts'' or referring to a whole clause.^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' Something, for ''etwas''.^(Wiktionary)^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # ''(colloquial)'' Why, what for.^(Wiktionary)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ===Interjection===

+ # ''(colloquial)'' What?, [[m|en|pardon]]?^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[wer]]

+ * [[wie]]

+ * [[wo]]

+ * [[wann]]

+ * [[welch]]

+ * [[en|what]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}