oder German · revision 35410

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=8th century, Old High German glosses}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈoːdər/, [ˈʔoː.dɐ]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''oder''' (coordinating conjunction; also a sentence-final particle)^(Wiktionary)

+ Middle High German had the shorter ''ode'', ''od'' beside ''oder''.^(Lexer 1872|2, 140) The short form ''od'' still appears now and then in the 16th century.^(DWB|13, 1148)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|oder]], [[inh|goh|odar]], an altered form of the older [[m|goh|odo]], which took its final /r/ on the model of [[aber]] and [[weder]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(EWA|2, 950)^(Duden 7 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Pfeifer and the Duden derive [[m|goh|odo]] from the still older [[m|goh|eddo]], with a change of vowel in unstressed use;^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2014) the EWA objects that no change of /e/ to /o/ in weak stress can be shown, and sets up a separate source for the forms with /o/, together with [[ang|oþþe]], the source of English [[m|en|or]].^(EWA|2, 950)^(Duden 7 2014) The form with /e/ matches [[osx|ettho]], [[non|eða]] and [[got|𐌰𐌹𐌸𐌸𐌰𐌿|tr=aiþþau]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(EWA|2, 950)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The second part of these forms is [[gem-pro|*þau|t=or, than]].^(EWA|2, 950)^(Wiktionary) The first is uncertain: Pfeifer connects it with [[m|got|𐌹𐌸|tr=iþ|t=but, if]] and so with [[la|et|t=and]] and [[grc|ἔτι|tr=éti|t=moreover]], from [[ine-pro|*eti|t=beyond, and]], while Wiktionary also considers the stem of [[ob]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary) Old Saxon [[m|osx|eftho]] and Old Frisian [[m|ofs|ieftha]] point to a parallel formation with that stem.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The oldest Old High German forms, ''eddo'' and ''odo'', are recorded in the 8th century, in glosses from about 765, meaning “or”, but also “and” and “otherwise”, for Latin ''aut'', ''vel'' and ''sive''.^(EWA|2, 950)^(Köbler AHD) The word occurs in the Hildebrandslied, Isidor, the Benedictine Rule and several baptismal vows and confessions.^(Schützeichel 2012|244)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The form with /r/ is recorded from the 10th century,^(Pfeifer 1993) became frequent at the beginning of the 13th century and had almost entirely replaced ''ode'' by the 14th.^(DWB|13, 1148) In New High German its first syllable was lengthened, so that poets could no longer use it as a single syllable.^(DWB|13, 1148)

+

+ In Early New High German ''oder'' often joined things without excluding one of them, in the sense “and, or rather, as well as”; the strictly exclusive use was much less common.^(FWB) In modern colloquial speech, especially in the southwest, ''oder?'' at the end of a sentence asks the listener for agreement, and in Swabian and Alemannic it is also added to commands.^(Paul 2002) The Yiddish word [[m|yi|אָדער|tr=oder]] comes from the Middle High German word.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 8th century – Old High German ''eddo'' and ''odo'' are recorded.^(EWA|2, 950)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 10th century – The form ''oder'' appears;^(Pfeifer 1993) ''odar'' follows in the 11th.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * Early 13th century – Forms with /r/ become frequent.^(DWB|13, 1148)

+ * 14th century – ''oder'' has nearly displaced ''ode''.^(DWB|13, 1148)

+ * 1588 – One of the last records of the short ''od'', in a Swiss text.^(DWB|13, 1148)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Conjunction===

+ # [[m|en|or]]: joins possibilities of which only one can be true: ''wohnt er in Hamburg oder in Lübeck?''; with [[entweder]] for emphasis.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ # Or, also called: joins two names for the same thing.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # Or: joins options between which one must choose.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # In ''oder so'', puts the preceding statement in doubt: or something like that.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # Or else, [[m|en|otherwise]]: names a possible consequence.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ # Introduces a question that anticipates an objection the speaker does not expect.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ===Particle===

+ # ''(colloquial, sentence-final)'' Right?, isn't it?: asks for agreement.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[aber]]

+ * [[weder]]

+ * [[ob]]

+ * [[doch]]

+ * [[en|or]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}