Frau German · revision 35584

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=early 9th century, Old High German glosses|origins=ine-pro *per-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /fʁaʊ̯/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Frau''' ''f'' (genitive Frau, plural Frauen, diminutive Fräulein n or Frauchen n or Frauerl n)^(Wiktionary)

+ The noun was weak in Old and Middle High German; weak endings (''der Frauen'' in the genitive singular) lasted into the second half of the 18th century, and the 17th and 18th centuries also had a plural ''Frauens''.^(DWB2|9, 885)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|vrouwe]], [[inh|goh|frouwa|t=mistress, lady]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*frauwjā]], [[inh|gem-pro|*frawjǭ|t=lady]].^(Kluge 2011|314)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary) It is a feminine formed to the Germanic word for “lord”, [[got|𐍆𐍂𐌰𐌿𐌾𐌰|tr=frauja|t=lord]], which German has lost except in [[goh|frō|t=lord]] and its genitive plural behind [[Fron]] and [[Fronleichnam]].^(Kluge 2011|314)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|285) The same pair appears in the divine names [[non|Freyr]] and [[m|non|Freyja]], and the feminine is also [[osx|frūa]] and [[ofs|frouwe]]; [[sv|fru]] and [[da|frue]] were borrowed from Low German.^(Kluge 2011|314)^(EWA|3, 597)^(Pfeifer 1993) In West Germanic the group -awj- became -aww-, so there was nothing to cause umlaut.^(EWA|3, 597)

+

+ The words belong to the root [[ine-pro|*per-|t=in front, early, first]], so that the “lord” was properly “the first”, as with [[Fürst]].^(Kluge 2011|314)^(Duden 7 2020|285)^(Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch) Kluge notes that comparable formations with a w-suffix have either the full grade, meaning “inclined forward”, or the zero grade, meaning “first”, as in [[cu|прьвъ|tr=prĭvŭ|t=first]], and assumes that the Germanic word had a non-syllabic r.^(Kluge 2011|314)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''frouwa'' is first recorded in glosses at the beginning of the 9th century and then in Otfrid, Notker and the ''Pariser Gespräche'', meaning “mistress, lady, woman of high rank” and glossing Latin ''domina'' and ''matrona''.^(Köbler AHD)^(EWA|3, 597)^(Schützeichel 2012|115)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In medieval society ''vrouwe'' was the title of a noble married lady, the head of a household, matching [[Herr]], while ''wīp'' ([[Weib]]) was the general word for a female person.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002) From the 12th century ''Frau'' could also be used without regard to rank for an adult woman and for a wife, and since the 17th century these have been its main senses; the link with high rank was lost in the 18th century, when ''Frau'' became general with the rise of the middle classes.^(DWB2|9, 885)^(Kluge 2011|314)^(Pfeifer 1993) As a title before a name it is first recorded in the 11th–12th century, at first for women of rank, from the 14th century also for others, and in the early 19th century it began to replace ''Madame''.^(DWB2|9, 885)^(Kluge 2011|314)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ The old sense “lady” survives in ''Unsere Liebe Frau'' for the Virgin Mary (compare French ''Notre Dame''), in [[Hausfrau]] (Middle High German ''hūsvrouwe'' “mistress of the house”) and in ''gnädige Frau''.^(Paul 2002)^(Duden 7 2020|285) English borrowed ''frau'' “married woman” in 1813, ''hausfrau'' in 1798 and ''fräulein'' in 1689, and Hungarian took ''fraj'' about 1590.^(LWP)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Early 9th century – Old High German ''frouwa'' appears in glosses.^(Köbler AHD)

+ * 11th–12th century – ''Frau'' is first used with a personal name.^(DWB2|9, 885)

+ * 12th century – ''Frau'' begins to be used for any adult woman, regardless of rank.^(DWB2|9, 885)

+ * 15th century – Strong singular forms appear beside the weak ones.^(DWB2|9, 885)

+ * 17th century – “woman” and “wife” become the main senses.^(DWB2|9, 885)

+ * 1813 – English borrows ''frau''.^(LWP)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|woman]], an adult female person.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A [[m|en|wife]]: ''seine Frau'', ''jemanden zur Frau nehmen''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The lady or mistress of a house: ''die Frau des Hauses''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # Before a name or title, and in address: Mrs, Ms, madam: ''Frau Schulz'', ''Frau Direktorin''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(dated)'' A lady, a woman of rank.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Fräulein]]

+ * [[fraulich]]

+ * [[frauenhaft]]

+ * [[Frauchen]]

+ * [[Frauenzimmer]]

+ * [[Hausfrau]]

+ * [[Jungfrau]]

+ * [[Ehefrau]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Fron]]

+ * [[Fronleichnam]]

+ * [[Fürst]]

+ * [[für]]

+ * [[en|frau]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Die weise Frau'' was a dated name for a midwife.^(Duden GWDS 1999) The lowercase pronoun ''frau'', used in feminist writing instead of [[man]] when women are meant, is a modern coinage from the noun.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary DE)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}