besitzen German · revision 35623

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /bəˈzɪtsən/, [bəˈzɪtsn̩], /beˈsitsɛn/^(Wiktionary)

+ * Austria: [b̥e-]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''besitzen''' (class 5 strong, third-person singular present besitzt, past tense besaß, past participle besessen, past subjunctive besäße, auxiliary haben)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|besitzen]], [[inh|goh|bisizzen]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*bisittjan|t=to sit by, near]], [[inh|gem-pro|*bisitjaną]], a prefixed form of [[sitzen]] with [[be-]].^(Kluge 2011|114)^(Wiktionary)^(Köbler AHD) The same verb is [[got|𐌱𐌹𐍃𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽|tr=bisitan|t=to dwell around]], [[ang|besittan]], [[osx|bisittian]] and [[nl|bezitten]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB2|4, 1080) The base verb goes back to [[ine-pro|*sed-|t=to sit]], as in [[la|sedeō|t=to sit]].^(Köbler AHD)^(EWA|7, 1302)

+

+ The verb first meant to take possession: what was meant was the land on which one actually sits or settles.^(Kluge 2011|114) Pfeifer sees the original sense in the transitive uses, “to sit around something, sit on it”, as in Gothic “to dwell around” and Middle High German “to besiege”, from which “to take possession, to have” developed.^(Pfeifer 1993) The Grimms' dictionary starts from sitting bodily on something, as in [[betreten]].^(DWB|1, 1625) Paul and Wiktionary compare [[la|possideō|t=to possess]], which contains the same root.^(Paul 2002)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''bisizzen'' first appears in glosses of the late 8th century, where ''pisezzan'' renders Latin ''possessus'', and the 9th-century gloss ''piseizan'' renders ''obsida'' “siege”.^(DWB2|4, 1080)^(Köbler AHD) It meant to own, inhabit, besiege, occupy or take into one's care, in the Tatian, Otfrid, Notker and the Murbach Hymns.^(Schützeichel 2012|283)^(Köbler AHD)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Middle High German ''besitzen'' still meant to surround, besiege or occupy as well as to own; the Annolied (about 1085) says that a king besieged Regensburg (''die mærin Reginsburch her se bisaz'').^(DWB2|4, 1080)^(Köbler MHD) Demons were said to “sit on” or occupy people, ''mit dem tiuvele wart er beseʒʒen'' in the Kaiserchronik, and the participle [[besessen]] became an adjective, “possessed by the devil”, and later “obsessed”.^(DWB|1, 1625)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ Luther often used the verb for taking a country to dwell in, which led to its main modern sense “to own”, at first of land and soil, later also of cattle, money and abilities.^(Paul 2002)^(Kluge 2011|114) This general sense became frequent only from the 16th century.^(Kluge 2011|114) Goethe's line from ''Faust'', ''Was du ererbt von deinen Vätern hast, / Erwirb es, um es zu besitzen'' (“What you have inherited from your fathers, earn it in order to possess it”), became a household quotation.^(Paul 2002) In Marxist usage ''die Besitzenden'' are the propertied class.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 8th century – Old High German ''pisezzan'' glosses Latin ''possessus''.^(DWB2|4, 1080)

+ * c. 1085 – The Annolied uses ''bisaz'' of a siege.^(DWB2|4, 1080)

+ * 16th century – The sense “to own” becomes common.^(Kluge 2011|114)

+ * 15th–16th century – ''Besitz'' means a siege, then property.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|own]], [[m|en|possess]], have as one's property: ''Seine Großeltern besaßen einen Bauernhof.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To have a quality, ability or feature: ''Sie besitzt großes Talent.'' Also, somewhat stilted, simply to have: ''Das Haus besitzt einen Keller.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(elevated, euphemistic)'' To have sexual intercourse with someone.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(rare)'' To take hold of someone's mind.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(dated)'' To occupy a place by sitting in it, as in Goethe's ''Torquato Tasso''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Besitzer]]

+ * [[Besitztum]]

+ * [[Besitzung]]

+ * [[Besitz]]

+ * [[Besitzerin]]

+ * [[besessen]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sitzen]]

+ * [[besetzen]]

+ * [[la|possideō]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}