Unfall German · revision 35631

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=before 1326, Meister Eckhart}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈʊnˌfal/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Unfall''' ''m'' (genitive Unfalles or Unfalls, plural Unfälle)^(Wiktionary)

+ Many dialects have a long vowel in the second syllable, and the written language reflects it into the 17th century with spellings such as ''unfahl'' (Hans Sachs) and ''unfaal''.^(DWB|24, 521)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|unval|t=misfortune]], which took the place of older [[m|gmh|ungeval]], formed [[af|de|un-|Fall]].^(Kluge 2011|941)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary)^(Duden GWDS 1999) The older word is also [[gml|ungeval]] and [[dum|ongheval]], continued in [[nl|ongeval|t=accident]]; it is the negation of Middle Low German [[m|gml|geval|t=chance, luck]], compare [[zufallen|t=to fall to one's share]], so that the first meaning was “bad luck”.^(Kluge 2011|941)^(Pfeifer 1993) Wahrig takes the Middle High German word to have come from Middle Low German.^(Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch) The prefix [[un-]] here means “bad”, not simply “not”, as in [[Untat]]; the concrete sense of [[Fall]] has faded, as in [[Zufall]] and [[Anfall]].^(Duden 7 2020)^(Adelung 1793) The Grimms compare [[ofs|unfall]] and [[non|úfall]].^(DWB|24, 521)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Middle High German ''ungeval'' “misfortune, mishap” appears in Hartmann von Aue's ''Erec'' (about 1185), and the shorter ''unval'' in Meister Eckhart (before 1326) and Oswald von Wolkenstein.^(Köbler MHD) Kluge dates ''Unfall'' to the 15th century, and the Duden dictionary gives Early New High German ''unval'' “misfortune” from then.^(Kluge 2011|941)^(Duden 7 2020)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Until the 19th century ''Unfall'' meant misfortune in general: Luther writes ''viele kommen zu Unfall'' (“many come to harm”), and Goethe still speaks of the ''Unfälle'' suffered under the French occupation.^(Paul 2002) Adelung already found the biblical use for a state of misfortune largely out of date.^(Adelung 1793|4, 846) The narrower sense, a single event that causes injury or damage, appears now and then in Early New High German.^(Paul 2002) From the later 19th century the insurance system fixed the word to it, with many compounds: ''Unfallversicherung'', ''Unfallrente'', ''Unfallverhütung''.^(Paul 2002) The Grimms note that working people said ''die Unfall'', feminine, when they meant the state accident insurance.^(DWB|24, 521)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1185 – Middle High German ''ungeval'' is used in Hartmann's ''Erec''.^(Köbler MHD)

+ * Before 1326 – Meister Eckhart uses ''unval''.^(Köbler MHD)

+ * 15th century – ''Unfall'' becomes the usual form.^(Kluge 2011|941)^(Duden 7 2020)

+ * 16th century – Luther uses it for misfortune in general.^(Paul 2002)

+ * Later 19th century – Through accident insurance the word is fixed to the sense “accident”.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An [[m|en|accident]]: a sudden, unintended event in which people are hurt or killed or things are damaged: ''ein Unfall auf der Autobahn'', ''einen Unfall verursachen'';^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary) ''(colloquial)'' ''einen Unfall bauen'', to have an accident.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(dated)'' [[m|en|misfortune|alt=Misfortune]], mishap.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Unfallversicherung]]

+ * [[Unfallflucht]]

+ * [[Verkehrsunfall]]

+ * [[Arbeitsunfall]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Fall]]

+ * [[fallen]]

+ * [[Zufall]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}