Bezirk German · revision 35570

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=15th century|origins=grc κίρκος}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /bəˈt͡sɪʁk/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Bezirk''' ''m'' (genitive Bezirks or Bezirkes, plural Bezirke)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is late [[inh|gmh|bezirc|t=circuit, district]], formed [[af|gmh|be-|zirc|t2=circle, circumference]].^(Kluge 2011|119)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary) According to Kluge, the verb [[m|gmh|bezirken|t=to fix the extent of]] was formed in late Middle High German, and under its influence the simple noun was extended with the prefix.^(Kluge 2011|119)^(Paul 2002) The simple noun goes back to [[goh|kirc]] (8th century), an early borrowing from [[la|circus|t=circle]], which comes from [[grc|κίρκος|tr=kírkos|t=circle, ring]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2014|168)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ ''Bezirk'' is recorded from the 15th century.^(Kluge 2011|119)^(Pfeifer 1993) The first quotation in the revised Grimm dictionary is from a legal record of 1487: ''die in diesem hof vnd bezirck jars geben einer helberling zinss'' “who pay a half-penny rent a year in this court and district”.^(DWB2|5, 168)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From “circle, circumference” the word narrowed to “an administrative area, the territory belonging to something”.^(Kluge 2011|119) ''Bezirk'' and the older ''Zirk'' stood side by side at first; from the 17th century ''Zirk'' gradually gave way, and in the 19th century it was given up.^(Pfeifer 1993) Hunters said ''in Bezirk bringen'' for going round a thicket to see whether the game was inside.^(DWB|1, 1801)^(Adelung 1793)

+

+ The verb ''bezirken'' “to set bounds to” still appears in Goethe: ''O Jugend … wirst du nie / Der Freude reines Maß bezirken?'' (“O youth, will you never set bounds to the pure measure of joy?”, ''Faust II'').^(Paul 2002) Compounds include [[Amtsbezirk]], [[Stadtbezirk]] and [[Regierungsbezirk]].^(Paul 2002)^(DWB|1, 1801) Czech slang borrowed it as ''pecirk'', and the Polish of Teschen as ''becyrk'' “district office”.^(LWP)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 8th century – Old High German ''kirc'' “circle” is borrowed from Latin.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 15th century – ''Bezirk'' is formed beside the older ''Zirk''.^(Kluge 2011|119)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1487 – First quotation, in a legal record.^(DWB2|5, 168)

+ * 17th century – ''Zirk'' begins to give way to ''Bezirk''.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 19th century – ''Zirk'' falls out of use.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1876 – Anzengruber writes of living in the sixth district of Vienna, using the word of the districts of Vienna.^(DWB2|5, 168)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A bounded [[m|en|area]], region: ''Der Förster kennt jeden Winkel seines Bezirks.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(less common)'' A [[m|en|sphere]], domain of thought or feeling.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # An administrative [[m|en|district]], such as a district of Berlin or Vienna, of a Swiss canton or of the former GDR: ''Sie wohnt im Bezirk Mitte.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(regional, colloquial)'' The administrative offices of a district of the GDR.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Amtsbezirk]]

+ * [[Stadtbezirk]]

+ * [[Regierungsbezirk]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Zirkel]]

+ * [[Zirkus]]

+ * [[zirka]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}