bereits German · revision 35556

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1550|origins=ine-pro *reidʰ-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Germany: [bəˈʁaɪ̯ts]^(Wiktionary)

+ * /beˈʁaɛ̯ts/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''bereits''' (adverb, invariable)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|de|bereit|-s|t1=ready]]: Middle High German used the adjective [[m|gmh|bereite|t=already; quickly, skilfully]] as an adverb.^(Pfeifer 1993) From the 16th century it took the adverbial ending -s of the genitive, as in [[flugs]], [[rechts]] and [[links]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2007)^(Wiktionary DE) Duden dates the form with -s to the 17th century, the Grimms' dictionary to the 17th and 18th, but the second edition of that dictionary quotes it from 1550.^(Duden 7 2007)^(DWB|1, 1500)^(DWB2|4, 1019) Kluge compares the meaning with that of [[en|already]] beside [[m|en|ready]].^(Kluge 2011|110)

+

+ The adjective is [[m|gmh|bereit]], [[goh|bireiti|t=equipped, ready]], recorded in a 12th-century manuscript.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2007) It has relatives with other prefixes, such as [[gml|gerēde|t=ready]] and [[got|𐌲𐌰𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌸𐍃|tr=garaiþs|t=appointed]], and without a prefix, such as [[ang|rǣde]], the ancestor of the English adjective, and [[non|reiðr]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2007) It probably belongs with [[reiten]] in its old sense “to travel”, so that it first meant “equipped for the journey”.^(Duden 7 2007)^(Pfeifer 1993) Pfeifer traces the group to [[ine-pro|*reidʰ-|t=to travel, be in motion]], with [[sga|réid|t=level, easy]].^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The second edition of the Grimms' dictionary quotes the form with ''-s'' first from documents of the estates of the Kurmark in 1550.^(DWB2|4, 1019) In 1556 Hans Staden boasts of how many Portuguese he ''bereits hette todt geschlagen'' (“had already killed”).^(DWB2|4, 1019)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Middle High German the adverb ''bereit(e)'' also meant “quickly, skilfully”.^(Pfeifer 1993) Adelung in 1793 explains ''bereits'' as meaning the same as [[schon]], only more refined and dignified, and rejects ''allbereits'' as an idle Alemannic lengthening.^(Adelung 1793|1, 861) The Grimms' dictionary notes a Swiss use meaning “almost, as good as”, quoting Zurich newspaper advertisements for a ''noch bereits neuer rock'' (“a coat still almost new”).^(DWB|1, 1500) The sense lives on in south-western Germany and Switzerland.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Middle High German – ''bereit(e)'' is used as an adverb “already, quickly”.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1550 – First record of ''bereits''.^(DWB2|4, 1019)

+ * 1556 – Hans Staden uses it in his account of South America.^(DWB2|4, 1019)

+ * 17th century – According to Duden, ''bereits'' replaces the older adverb ''bereit''.^(Duden 7 2007)

+ * 1793 – Adelung calls it a more dignified word for ''schon''.^(Adelung 1793|1, 861)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # [[m|en|already]]; as early as: ''Als wir ankamen, war der Zug bereits abgefahren.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(south-western Germany, especially Switzerland)'' [[m|en|almost]], nearly, as good as: ''ein bereits neues Fahrrad''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(DWB|1, 1500)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[allbereits]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[bereit]]

+ * [[bereiten]]

+ * [[Bereitschaft]]

+ * [[reiten]]

+ * [[en|already]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}