eben German · revision 35511

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 790, Old High German Benediktinerregel|origins=gem-pro *ebnaz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /eːbən/, [ˈeːbən], [ˈeːbm̩]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Nonstandard: /ˈeːbənt/, [ˈeː(b)m̩t]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''eben''' (strong nominative masculine singular ebener or ebner, comparative ebener or ebner, superlative am ebensten)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|eben]], [[inh|goh|eban]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*ebn]], [[inh|gem-pro|*ebnaz|t=even, level]].^(Kluge 2011|226)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary) The adverb continues Middle High German [[m|gmh|ebene]] and Old High German [[m|goh|ebano]].^(Duden 7 2020)^(Wiktionary) The same word is [[got|𐌹𐌱𐌽𐍃|tr=ibns|t=even, level]], [[non|jafn]], [[ang|efen]], [[osx|eƀan]] and [[ofs|even]], continued in [[en|even]], [[nl|effen]] and [[sv|jämn]].^(Kluge 2011|226)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Kroonen 2013)

+

+ From the start of the record the Germanic adjective meant both “equal” and “level”, properly “equally high”, and only Gothic keeps the two senses apart, using strong inflection for “level” and weak inflection for “equal”.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020)

+

+ Its further origin is unclear.^(Kluge 2011|226)^(Duden 7 2020)^(Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch) Kluge points out that Old English also has forms with /mn/ beside /bn/, which do not follow the usual distribution, and calls the comparison with Welsh and Breton words for “right, equal” attractive in meaning but difficult in sound.^(Kluge 2011|226) Kroonen derives the adjective from [[ine-pro|*h₁em-no-]], a no-stem also found in [[sa|अम्नस्|tr=amnás|t=just, just now]], with Germanic /bn/ from older /mn/, and rejects the Celtic comparison.^(Kroonen 2013) Pfeifer and the revised Grimm dictionary consider instead a root [[ine-pro|*i̯em-|t=to hold together, pair]], through Irish and Sanskrit words for “twin”.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB2|7, 5)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''ebano'' is first recorded about 790 in the Benediktinerregel, rendering Latin ''aequaliter'' “equally”.^(DWB2|7, 5)^(Köbler AHD) Schützeichel lists the adjective in Notker, the Weißenburger Katechismus and the glosses with the senses “equal, just, straight, upright”, and the phrase ''in eban'' “side by side, level with”.^(Schützeichel 2012|81)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “flat” is recorded from the 11th century and “straight” from the 12th; in Middle High German ''eben'' also meant “fitting, right” and “balanced, even”.^(Paul 2002)^(FWB) The old sense “equal” survives in modern German only in compounds such as [[Ebenbild]], [[ebenbürtig]] and [[Ebenmaß]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020) The sense “fitting” lives on in the double negative ''nicht uneben'' “not bad”, as in Lessing's ''Minna von Barnhelm''.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ The adverb developed much as [[gerade]], [[gleich]] and [[genau]] did: “evenly, in the same way, exactly”, especially with demonstratives, as in [[ebenda]], [[ebendort]] and [[ebenso]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020) Already in Middle High German it took on a temporal sense, both “a moment ago” and “just now”.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020) Used alone it confirms what was said, and unstressed it has faded into a particle like [[halt]], marking something that has to be accepted.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020) The noun [[Ebene]] was used as a term of geometry for Medieval Latin ''planum'' from the 16th century.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 790 – Old High German ''ebano'' “equally” in the Benediktinerregel.^(DWB2|7, 5)

+ * 11th century – First record of the sense “flat”.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 12th century – First record of the sense “straight”.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1280/85 – ''zu ebener Erde'' “at ground level” in the Schwabenspiegel.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 16th century – ''Ebene'' becomes the geometrical term for a plane.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1628 – ''eben'' is used in geometry for uncurved surfaces.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|flat]] and [[m|en|level]], without rises or dips.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # [[m|en|smooth]], levelled: ''zu ebener Erde'' “at ground level, on the ground floor”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # [[m|en|just]], a moment ago: ''Sie ist eben gegangen.''^(Wiktionary)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ # Right now, at this moment.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ # ''(modal particle)'' Simply, just: marks something as known or unchangeable, to be accepted: ''Das Wetter ist eben so.''^(Wiktionary)^(Duden 7 2020)

+ # ''(modal particle)'' Quickly, without fuss: ''Ich hole eben das Brot.''^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(literary)'' Exactly, [[m|en|precisely]], with a demonstrative: ''eben dieser Mann''.^(Wiktionary)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ===Interjection===

+ # Exactly!, used to agree with a point one already held.^(Wiktionary)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Ebene]]

+ * [[ebnen]]

+ * [[ebenda]]

+ * [[ebender]]

+ * [[ebendort]]

+ * [[ebenso]]

+ * [[Ebenbild]]

+ * [[ebenbürtig]]

+ * [[Ebenmaß]]

+ * [[ebenfalls]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[neben]]

+ * [[en|even]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In everyday speech the form ''ebent'' is common;^(Paul 2002)^(Wiktionary) the revised Grimm dictionary records the added /t/ sporadically in the 15th century and as regional colloquial usage in the 20th.^(DWB2|7, 5) An obsolete adjective ''eben'' “made of ebony”, from ''Ebenholz'', is recorded in 1611 and 1632.^(DWB2|7, 9)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}