paar German · revision 35508

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=16th century|origins=la pār}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /paːr/, [paːɐ̯], [paː]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''paar''' (invariable)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It comes from the noun [[Paar]], “pair”, used loosely for a small number.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002)^(Wiktionary) That noun is [[gmh|pār]], taken after the High German consonant shift from [[la|pār|t=equal; as a noun, companion, pair]].^(Kluge 2011|677)^(Pfeifer 1993) Kluge describes the change from “two” to “some” as a generalization of the meaning.^(Kluge 2011|677)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Paul and Pfeifer date the loose use for a small number, and before numbers “a little more than”, to the 16th century.^(Paul 2002)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Paul shows how ''ein paar Ochsen'' “a few oxen” drew away from ''ein Paar Ochsen'' “a pair of oxen”: the word came to behave like an uninflected adjective, the verb went into the plural, the case ending moved to the noun (''mit ein paar Ochsen'' beside ''mit einem Paar Ochsen''), and the definite article could precede it, as in Immermann's ''die paar Groschen Verdienst'' “the few pennies earned”.^(Paul 2002) The small initial letter marks this use in writing.^(Paul 2002)^(Pfeifer 1993) Goethe once even inflected the word standing alone, ''unter ein paaren''.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 13th century – The noun ''Paar'' is borrowed from Latin.^(Kluge 2011|677)

+ * 16th century – ''ein paar'' is used for “a few”.^(Paul 2002)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Indefinite pronoun===

+ # ''ein paar'': a [[m|en|few]], some: ''ein paar Äpfel'', ''in ein paar Wochen'';^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary) ''(colloquial)'' ''ein paar kriegen'' “to get a few slaps”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # With the definite article or a pronoun: the few, not many: ''Mit den paar Euro komme ich nicht weit.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(regional)'' Without ''ein'': ''nach paar Tagen''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Paar]]

+ * [[paaren]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Adelung records an adjective ''paar'' “even (of a number)” and “matching”, used in common speech and in Upper German, with the children's game ''paar oder unpaar'' “odd or even”.^(Adelung 1793|3, 631) Wiktionary also lists ''paar'' as an obsolete spelling of [[bar]] “bare; cash”.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}