geraten German · revision 35638

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ɡəˈʁaːtn̩/, /ɡəˈʁaːtən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''geraten''' (class 7 strong, third-person singular present gerät, past tense geriet, past participle geraten, auxiliary sein)^(Wiktionary)

+ The older spelling was ''gerathen''.^(Wiktionary) Beside the umlauted present ''gerätst'', ''gerät'', forms without umlaut (''geratest'', ''geratet'') were also used, and Alemannic had ''gerotet''.^(DWB|5, 3567)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|gerāten]], [[inh|goh|girātan|t=to advise, decide]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*garādan]], [[inh|gem-pro|*garēdaną|t=to take forethought, intend]].^(Kluge 2011|350)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary) It is the verb [[raten]] with the prefix [[ge-]], and at first it was only a stronger, perfective form of that verb.^(Kluge 2011|350)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB|5, 3567) The same formation is [[got|𐌲𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌳𐌰𐌽|tr=garēdan|t=to provide for, take care of]], [[osx|girādan|t=to procure, bring about]] and [[gml|gerāden]], and it survives in [[nl|geraden|t=to guess]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary) Köbler traces the root to [[ine-pro|*rēdʰ-|t=to prepare, arrange]], following Pokorny.^(Köbler AHD)

+

+ The modern senses grew out of the old one in steps: “decide”, then “bring about”, then “succeed”, according to Kluge.^(Kluge 2011|350) Pfeifer suggests instead that the sense “to arrive somewhere, come into a state”, found from Middle High German and Middle Low German on, attached itself to a rare Middle High German sense “to hit upon”, compare [[m|gmh|rāten|t=to guess right]].^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''girātan'' is first recorded in glosses of the end of the 8th century, and then in Otfrid, Notker and the poem ''De Heinrico'', meaning “to advise, deliberate, decide”, also “to carry out” and “to turn to”.^(Köbler AHD)^(Schützeichel 2012|253)^(Pfeifer 1993) The Gothic Bible uses ''garēdan'' for Greek “to take thought for” (2 Corinthians 8:21), and the Old Saxon ''Heliand'' for bringing something about by counsel or care.^(DWB|5, 3567)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Middle High German ''gerāten'' still meant “to advise, order, decide” (in the ''Nibelungenlied'' Hagen says ''daʒ gerætet nimmer mîn lîp'', “I will never advise that”), but it also meant “to succeed, thrive”, “to get somewhere” and “to begin”.^(DWB|5, 3567)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Köbler MHD) The Early New High German dictionary records all of these and a further sense, “to do without”, from the noun [[Rat]] in its old meaning “renunciation”; in the 17th century the written language gave this sense up to [[entraten]].^(FWB)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ In modern German the verb describes the chance result of a movement (''in Gefahr'', ''in Brand'', ''in Vergessenheit geraten'', “to get into danger”, “catch fire”, “fall into oblivion”), and the way something develops or turns out, especially well;^(Paul 2002) Paul has examples from Luther, Goethe and the Grimms' dictionary.^(Paul 2002) From an imperative wish formula, compare Middle High German ''wol gerāten'' “thrive well”, came the noun ''Geratewohl'', now only in ''aufs Geratewohl'' “at random, on the off chance” (16th century).^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Kluge 2011|350)^(Paul 2002) Slovene borrowed the verb as ''gratati'' “to become, turn out, succeed”.^(LWP)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * End of the 8th century – Old High German ''girātan'' is first recorded, in glosses.^(Köbler AHD)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 16th century – ''aufs Geratewohl'' “at random” appears.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1570 – First record of ''nach den Eltern geraten'' “to take after one's parents”.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 17th century – The sense “to do without” gives way to ''entraten'' in the written language.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1727 – ''außer sich geraten'' “to lose one's composure” is recorded.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To get somewhere by chance, to [[m|en|stray]] or end up (often to one's harm): ''Die Wanderer gerieten in einen Hagelsturm.'' ''(colloquial)'' ''an jemanden geraten'', to come up against someone.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To get into a state or situation: ''in Schulden geraten'', ''in Vergessenheit geraten'', ''in Brand geraten'', ''außer sich geraten''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To [[m|en|succeed]], turn out well: ''Das Brot ist heute geraten.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # With an adverb: to turn out in a certain way: ''Der Pullover ist ihr zu weit geraten.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''nach jemandem geraten'', to [[m|en|take after]] a parent or grandparent: ''Er gerät ganz nach der Großmutter.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Geratewohl]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[raten]]

+ * [[Rat]]

+ * [[entraten]]

+ * [[goh|girātan]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The adjective ''geraten'' “advisable” (''Es schien mir geraten, früher abzureisen'') is the past participle of [[raten]], not of this verb; in older German it also meant “well grown, successful”.^(DWB|5, 3576)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}