Schloss German · revision 35523

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ʃlɔs/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Schloss''' ''n'' (genitive Schlosses, plural Schlösser, diminutive Schlösschen n or Schlösslein n or Schlosserl n)^(Wiktionary)

+ The older spelling is ''Schloß''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|sloȥ]], [[inh|goh|sloȥ|alt=slōz, sloz]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*slot|t=bar, bolt]], a derivative of [[schließen]].^(Kluge 2011|812)^(Duden 7 2020)^(Wiktionary) The same word is [[nl|slot|t=lock]], and it is related to [[en|slot]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ That verb is [[goh|sliozan]], beside which Kluge compares, without the initial /s/, [[la|claudō|t=to close]], related to [[m|la|clāvis|t=key, bar]] and [[grc|κλείς|tr=kleís|t=bar, hook, key]]: to close was “to put a bar across”.^(Kluge 2011|811)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''sloz'' is recorded from the 8th century, first meaning “door fastening, bolt”; as a semantic loan from [[m|la|conclūsio]] it also meant “conclusion”.^(Kluge 2011|812)^(Duden 7 2020)^(Wiktionary DE) Middle High German ''sloz'' covered a lock, bolt, fastening, bond or fetter, an enclosure, a conclusion, the keystone of a vault, and a castle.^(Köbler MHD)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Since the 13th century the word has also named a castle.^(Kluge 2011|812)^(Duden 7 2020) Kluge and Wahrig explain this as a fortress that closes off the land or a watercourse;^(Kluge 2011|812)^(Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch) Duden allows two readings, passive “what is locked” (compare [[Klause]]) and active “blocking structure”.^(Duden 7 2020) From the fortified castle came the sense of the residence of princes and nobles, distinguished in meaning from ''Burg'', ''Feste'' and ''Festung''.^(Duden 7 2020)^(Kluge 2011|812)

+

+ The sense “lock” was extended to the clasp of a bag or necklace and to the firing mechanism of a gun.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary) The craftsman who made locks is the [[Schlosser]].^(Kluge 2011|812) English used ''schloss'' for a German castle or manor house from 1617,^(LWP) and Estonian borrowed the word as ''loss''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 8th century – Old High German ''sloz'' “door fastening”.^(Kluge 2011|812)

+ * Before 1190 – Middle High German ''sloz''.^(Köbler MHD)

+ * 13th century – The word is first used for a castle.^(Kluge 2011|812)^(Duden 7 2020)

+ * 1617 – English ''schloss'' “German castle or manor house”.^(LWP)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|lock]] (on a door, a drawer or a case).^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A [[m|en|padlock]].^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A [[m|en|clasp]], snap fastening (on a handbag, a necklace).^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary DE)

+ # The [[m|en|breech]] or firing mechanism of a firearm.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A [[m|en|palace]], [[m|en|castle]], stately home of the nobility.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The people living in a palace.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(zoology)'' The hinge of a mussel's shell.^(Wiktionary DE)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Schlösschen]]

+ * [[Schlosser]]

+ * [[Vorhängeschloss]]

+ * [[Luftschloss]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Schlüssel]]

+ * [[schließen]]

+ * [[Schluss]]

+ * [[Verschluss]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Hinter Schloss und Riegel'' (colloquial) is “in prison”, ''unter Schloss und Riegel'' “under lock and key”, and ''ein Schloss vor dem Mund haben'' is to keep silent about something.^(Duden GWDS 1999) ''Schlösser in die Luft bauen'' is to build castles in the air (compare [[Luftschloss]]).^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}