der German · revision 35429

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /deːr/, [deːɐ̯], [dɛɐ̯]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''der''' (masculine), '''die''' (feminine), '''das''' (neuter); plural '''die''' for all genders.^(DWB|2, 954)^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ Old High German had ''der'', ''diu'', ''daz'', with the masculine dative ''demu'', which became ''demo'' in the 9th century and ''deme'' in the 11th.^(EWA|2, 589) Middle High German had ''der'', ''diu'', ''daz'', plural ''die'', ''der'', ''den'', ''die''.^(DWB|2, 954)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|der]], [[inh|goh|der]], a reshaping of an old demonstrative pronoun built on the stem [[ine-pro|*to-]].^(Kluge 2011|191)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020) Most forms of the paradigm, and the neuter [[gem-pro|*þat]], continue that stem, which is also found in [[sa|तत्|tr=tát|t=this]], [[grc|τό|tr=tó|t=the (neuter)]], [[lt|tàs|t=that, this]], [[ru|тот|tr=tot|t=that]] and the second part of [[la|iste|t=that one]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB2|6, 692) The masculine and feminine nominative, however, originally began with /s/: [[got|𐍃𐌰|tr=sa]], [[non|sá]] and [[ang|sē]] match [[m|sa|स|tr=sá]] and [[m|grc|ὁ|tr=ho]], from [[m|ine-pro|*so]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Orel 2003)^(DWB2|6, 692) In the High German area these forms with /s/ were given up before the first records and replaced by forms with ⟨d⟩ modelled on the rest of the paradigm, while elsewhere in Germanic they lasted longer.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB2|6, 692)

+

+ The neuter is [[got|𐌸𐌰𐍄𐌰|tr=þata]], [[non|þat]], [[ang|þæt]] and [[osx|that]], which gave [[en|that]].^(Kroonen 2013)^(Duden 7 2020) The pronoun took on the function of the definite article in all the West Germanic languages, as in Greek, and partly also that of the relative pronoun;^(Kluge 2011|191)^(Pfeifer 1993) Gothic shows only the beginnings of an article, and the Scandinavian languages use this pronoun as one only in certain phrases, having a suffixed article of another origin.^(Kluge 2011|191)^(Pfeifer 1993) The modern article of English, [[m|en|the]], and of Dutch, [[nl|de]], belong here too.^(Duden 7 2020)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''der'', ''diu'', ''daz'' is recorded from the 8th century as a demonstrative pronoun (“this, that, the one”), a relative pronoun (“who, which”) and the definite article, rendering Latin ''is'', ''ille'', ''hic'' and ''qui''.^(Kluge 2011|191)^(EWA|2, 589) Köbler counts some 35,000 instances and dates the earliest source to the first half of the 8th century.^(Köbler AHD) The spelling varied from text to text: ''dhe'' in Isidor, ''thie'' in Tatian, ''de'' in the Hildebrandslied.^(EWA|2, 589)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the beginning of the 15th century the pronoun, though not the article, developed longer forms in the genitive and dative: ''dessen'', ''deren'', ''derer'' and ''denen''.^(DWB2|6, 692)^(Paul 2002) Paul explains ''derer'' and ''denen'' as the adjective ending added once more to the finished forms, while the origin of ''dessen'' and ''deren'' is still unclear.^(Paul 2002) Luther still wrote the short genitives ''des'' and ''der'', and the chancery style used ''dero''.^(Paul 2002) Writers of the classical period revived ''des'', usually spelt ''deß'', from the language of the Bible (Klopstock, Goethe), and the short genitive lives on in [[deshalb]], [[deswegen]], [[desgleichen]] and [[indes]].^(Paul 2002)

+

+ As a demonstrative, ''der'' points at something present, mentioned before or about to be named, and it can be contrasted with [[jener]] or [[dieser]].^(Paul 2002) In colloquial German the article is also used before first names (''die Petra'', ''der Papa'').^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 8th century – Old High German ''der'', ''diu'', ''daz'' appears as pronoun and article.^(Kluge 2011|191)^(Köbler AHD)

+ * 9th century – The masculine dative ''demu'' becomes ''demo''.^(EWA|2, 589)

+ * Early 15th century – The longer forms ''dessen'', ''deren'', ''derer'', ''denen'' begin to appear.^(DWB2|6, 692)

+ * 16th century – Luther still uses the short genitives ''des'' and ''der''.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Article===

+ # The definite [[m|en|article]]: marks a noun as known or identified (“the”).^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # With a noun standing for a whole class: ''der Mensch'' “man, human beings”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' Before personal names.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # ''(demonstrative, stressed)'' That, this; that one.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(demonstrative)'' He, him, she, her, used instead of the [[m|en|personal pronoun]], especially in informal speech.^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(relative)'' Who, which, that.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[die]]

+ * [[das]]

+ * [[dass]]

+ * [[derjenige]]

+ * [[derselbe]]

+ * [[deshalb]]

+ * [[deswegen]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[en|the]]

+ * [[en|that]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}