Kurs German · revision 35446

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 800, Old High German Benedictine Rule|origins=la currō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * [kʊʁs], [kʊɐ̯s]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Kurs''' ''m'' (genitive Kurses, plural Kurse)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|cursus|t=running, course, journey, circulation]], borrowed several times, by different routes.^(Kluge 2011|551)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(EWA|5, 921) The earliest form, [[goh|curs]] (about 800), and [[gmh|curs]] “series of prescribed prayers” took the church sense of [[m|la|cursus]], “the canonical hours”.^(EWA|5, 921)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ From the 15th century it came in again under the influence of the Romance languages and Dutch: the nautical “course of a ship” through [[gml|kors]], from [[dum|coers]] and [[fro|cors]], [[fr|cours]] and [[m|fr|course]]; the commercial “price, exchange rate” in the 16th and 17th centuries after [[it|corso|t=circulation of money; value]] and the French noun; and the academic “course of lectures” from the 16th century, taken directly from [[la-med|cursus|t=series of lectures]], at first keeping the Latin form.^(Kluge 2011|551)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020)^(Duden GWDS 1999) The sporting sense “racecourse” (early 20th century) probably follows [[en|course]].^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ The Latin noun comes from [[m|la|currō|t=to run]].^(Kluge 2011|551)^(Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch) The same word came through Italian as [[Korso]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The Old High German word appears around 800 in the Benedictine Rule, and in the Mainz and Palatine confessions, meaning a prayer exercise, especially the canonical hour of Vespers.^(EWA|5, 921)^(AWB|5, 543)^(Schützeichel 2012|187)^(Köbler AHD) Middle High German ''curs'' “series of prescribed prayers” is recorded in the late 12th century.^(Köbler MHD)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Paul has the nautical word as ''koers'' in 1431, then ''kors'', ''Cours'' (1598, from French) and ''Curs'' (1622, from Latin).^(Paul 2002) Around 1600 the seaman's term entered general usage as “direction”, as in ''seinen Kurs nehmen''; in the 19th century it was used figuratively for a political line, and in the 20th century aviation took it over.^(Pfeifer 1993)

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+ In commerce ''corrß'' “bill of lading” is recorded once in the second half of the 15th century; from the middle of the 16th century, and commonly in the 17th, ''Kurs'' meant a price set by demand, replacing the loan translation ''Lauf''; at the end of the 17th century it also came to mean the circulation of money, whence ''in Kurs kommen'' and ''außer Kurs setzen''.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Kluge 2011|551) ''Kursieren'' “to circulate” followed in 1672.^(Paul 2002)^(Pfeifer 1993)

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+ The academic sense began at the universities in the 16th century: the Heidelberg statutes of 1558 require bachelors of theology to hold their ''cursus''.^(DFWB)^(Pfeifer 1993) ''Kursus'' remained in use beside the shortened ''Kurs'', which spread in the 17th and 18th centuries (''Lehr-Cursen'', 1786).^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 800 – Old High German ''curs'' “prayer exercise” in the Benedictine Rule.^(EWA|5, 921)^(Köbler AHD)

+ * 1431 – The nautical form ''koers'' is recorded.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1558 – ''cursus'' “course of lectures” in the Heidelberg university statutes.^(DFWB)

+ * 1598 – ''Cours'', from French.^(Paul 2002)

+ * c. 1600 – The seaman's word passes into general use as “direction”.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1622 – The form ''Curs''.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1668 – ''Cours'' as the rate of exchange in commerce.^(Paul 2002)

+ * Early 20th century – ''Kurs'' “racecourse” in sport.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The [[m|en|course]] or heading of a ship or aircraft; figuratively, the line followed in politics or business: ''Die Partei schlägt einen neuen Kurs ein.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)^(Wiktionary DE)

+ # ''(sports)'' A racecourse, [[m|en|track]].^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Duden Fremdwörterbuch 2007)

+ # A series of lessons, a [[m|en|class]]: ''ein Kurs für Anfänger''; also the participants of such a course.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)^(Duden Fremdwörterbuch 2007)

+ # The market price of securities or currencies, the [[m|en|exchange rate]]: ''Der Kurs des Euro ist gestiegen.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)^(Wiktionary DE)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Kursbuch]]

+ * [[kursieren]]

+ * [[Kuschelkurs]]

+ * [[Sprachkurs]]

+ * [[Wechselkurs]]

+ * [[Kurswagen]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Kursus]]

+ * [[Korso]]

+ * [[kursiv]]

+ * [[konkurrieren]]

+ * [[en|course]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Hoch im Kurs stehen'' is “to be highly valued, popular”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Pfeifer 1993) An unrelated 16th-century ''Kurs'' or ''Curs'', used by Hans Sachs and in Fischart's ''Gargantua'' (''curszwein''), was a fine wine from Corsica, from Italian ''vino corso''.^(DWB|11, 2818)^(FWB)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}