Land German · revision 35573

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=8th century, Old High German glosses|origins=ine-pro *lendʰ-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /lant/, /lɑnt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Land''' ''n'' (genitive Landes or Lands, plural Länder or (elevated or poetic) Lande, diminutive Ländchen n or Ländlein n)^(Wiktionary)

+ The Middle High German plural was ''diu lant'', still found in the 16th century.^(Paul 2002)^(Pfeifer 1993) ''Länder'', on the model of neuter nouns such as ''Kalb'', ''Kälber'', appears from the early 14th century, and ''Lande'' from the 15th.^(Paul 2002)^(Pfeifer 1993) Adelung already called ''Lande'' elevated, and it survives in [[Niederlande]] and in phrases such as ''aus fernen Landen''.^(Paul 2002)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|lant]], [[inh|goh|lant]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*land]], [[inh|gem-pro|*landą|t=land]].^(Kluge 2011|557)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary) The same word is [[got|𐌻𐌰𐌽𐌳|tr=land]], [[non|land]], [[ang|land]], [[ofs|lond]] and [[osx|land]], continued in [[en|land]], [[nl|land]] and [[sv|land]].^(Kluge 2011|557)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Orel 2003) A form in another ablaut grade is the Swedish dialect word [[m|sv|linda|t=fallow field]], and Pfeifer and the Duden probably add [[non|lundr|t=grove]].^(Kluge 2011|557)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|494)

+

+ Outside Germanic it is compared with [[sga|land|t=open space]], the Gaulish source of [[fr|lande|t=heath]], [[ru|ляда|tr=ljáda|t=cleared land, fallow]] and [[cs|lada|t=fallow land]], which point to [[ine-pro|*lendʰ-|t=open land, heath]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|494)^(Kluge 2011|557) Kluge adds Oettinger's comparison with a Hieroglyphic Luwian verb meaning “to extend (borders)”, which suits the senses “fallow field” and “cleared land” and would make the starting point “extension, new land”.^(Kluge 2011|557) A further link with [[Lende]] “loin” would need more support.^(Kluge 2011|557) Wahrig and Köbler connect the root with [[m|ine-pro|*lem-|t=to break]].^(Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch)^(Köbler AHD)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''lant'' is recorded from 765 in glosses, then in the ''Hildebrandslied'', the ''Muspilli'', the Tatian, Otfrid and Notker.^(Köbler AHD)^(Schützeichel 2012|192) It meant land as opposed to town and water, homeland, field, region, territory, realm, the inhabited earth and the shore;^(EWA|5, 1029) ''Frankôno lant'' was Franconia and ''lant giheizes'' the Promised Land.^(EWA|5, 1029)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Kluge notes that the meaning had already shifted to “the territory of a people or state” in Germanic times, and that the contrasts with the town and with the water followed.^(Kluge 2011|557) Paul describes the oldest sense as a word for the substance of the earth's surface without fixed limits, still present in ''Ackerland'' and ''Bauland''.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ The phrase ''zu Wasser und zu Lande'' is recorded by Stieler in 1691.^(Paul 2002) ''Etwas an Land ziehen'' “to get hold of something” probably referred at first to salvaging goods washed ashore after a shipwreck, or to a big fish that the angler has to pull onto the bank.^(Duden 7 2020|494) The verb [[landen]] came from Low German in the 17th century and replaced the older ''länden'', Old High German ''lenten''.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|494) Polish borrowed the word as ''ląd'' “dry land”, recorded in 1585.^(LWP)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 765 – Old High German ''lant'' appears in glosses.^(Köbler AHD)

+ * Early 14th century – The plural ''Länder'' is first recorded.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 15th century – The plural ''Lande'' appears.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002)

+ * 16th century – The old plural ''lant'' is still in use.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1585 – Polish ''ląd'' is recorded as a borrowing.^(LWP)

+ * 17th century – ''landen'' replaces ''länden''.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1691 – Stieler records ''zu Wasser und zu Lande''.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Land as opposed to sea, dry [[m|en|land]]: ''Die Robben ruhen sich an Land aus.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Usable ground, [[m|en|soil]]: ''Er pachtet zwei Hektar Land.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # An area or stretch of country without fixed bounds (plural ''Lande'', poetic): ''Hinter dem Wald begann flaches Land.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # The [[m|en|countryside]], as opposed to the town: ''Sie sind aus der Stadt aufs Land gezogen.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A [[m|en|country]], a state with its own territory: ''Die beiden Länder schlossen einen Vertrag.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A constituent state of a federation, such as the German and Austrian [[Bundesland|alt=Bundesländer]]: ''Bildung ist Sache der Länder.''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Landschaft]]

+ * [[Länderei]]

+ * [[ländlich]]

+ * [[landen]]

+ * [[Ausland]]

+ * [[Inland]]

+ * [[Bundesland]]

+ * [[Festland]]

+ * [[Landstreicher]]

+ * [[Landstrich]]

+ * [[Ackerland]]

+ * [[Flachland]]

+ * [[Brachland]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Gelände]]

+ * [[Lende]]

+ * [[en|land]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Land unter'' means that a coast or island is flooded, and ''Land sehen'' is to see a way out of difficulties.^(Duden GWDS 1999) The proverb ''andere Länder, andere Sitten'' warns travellers to expect different customs.^(Duden GWDS 1999) ''Bleibe im Lande und nähre dich redlich'' (“stay in the land and feed yourself honestly”) comes from Psalm 37:3.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}