ab German · revision 35743

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=8th century, Old High German|origins=ine-pro *h₂epó}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Germany: /ap/, /ɑp/^(Wiktionary)

+ * Austria, Bavaria, Switzerland: /ɑb̥/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''ab''' (invariable)^(Wiktionary)

+ The older form ''abe'' is still found in Luther, and later in Schiller and Goethe as a deliberate archaism.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|abe]], [[inh|goh|aba]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*ab]], [[inh|gem-pro|*ab|t=away from, off]].^(Kluge 2011|3)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary) The final vowel of the Old High German form was added later.^(Kluge 2011|3) The same word is [[got|𐌰𐍆|tr=af]], [[non|af]], [[ang|of]], [[ofs|of]] and [[osx|af]], with the modern [[nl|af]], [[en|of]], [[m|en|off]] and [[sv|av]].^(Kluge 2011|3)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ It continues [[ine-pro|*h₂epó|t=away, off]], also the source of [[sa|अप|tr=ápa|t=away, off]], [[grc|ἀπό|tr=apó|t=from, away]] and [[la|ab|t=from]].^(Kluge 2011|3)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB2|1, 17)^(Wiktionary DE) In Germanic this preposition expressed separation, while [[gem-pro|*fram]] expressed movement from a place; in German the latter was replaced before the first records by the new formation [[von]].^(Kluge 2011|3)^(DWB2|1, 17)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''aba'' is recorded from the last quarter of the 8th century, in the Benedictine Rule, then in the glosses, Isidor, the ''Hildebrandslied'' and Notker.^(Köbler AHD)^(Schützeichel 2012|27) It meant “from, away from, down from, out of”.^(Schützeichel 2012|27)^(Köbler AHD)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As a preposition the word was displaced by ''von'' from Middle High German on, while ''von'' is not used as an adverb or in compounds, so that the two complement each other.^(Kluge 2011|3)^(Paul 2002) The literary language used the preposition into the 16th and 17th centuries, and Alemannic dialects, especially in Switzerland, keep it;^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002) Pestalozzi, Hebel and Mörike still wrote ''ab dem Pfade''.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002) A relic is [[abhanden]], originally “from the hands”.^(Kluge 2011|3)^(Duden 7 2014|98) At the end of the 19th century the preposition returned through the language of commerce, in ''ab Lager'' (1822), ''ab Hamburg'', ''ab heute'';^(Kluge 2011|3)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002) Kluge sees these as shortened from ''von Hamburg ab'', while Paul suspects influence of Latin.^(Kluge 2011|3)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ As an adverb it is used mostly with verbs; on its own it appears in stage directions in the 18th century and in commands such as ''Hut ab!'' and ''ab ins Bett'' in the 19th.^(Paul 2002)^(DWB|1, 6) ''Ab und zu'' first meant “away and back”, in space, and now means “now and then”.^(Paul 2002) The colloquial predicative use “off, detached”, as of a button, grew out of verbs such as [[abgehen]].^(Wiktionary)^(Duden GWDS 1999) As a prefix, ''ab-'' developed senses such as “mis-”, “-less” and “counter-”, as in [[Abgott]] and [[Abgrund]].^(Kluge 2011|3)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 8th century – Old High German ''aba'' in the Benedictine Rule.^(Köbler AHD)

+ * 1060–1080 – Middle High German ''abe'' in the ''Genesis''.^(Köbler MHD)

+ * 16th–17th century – Last regular use of the preposition in the literary language.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 18th century – ''ab'' in stage directions (“exits”).^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1822 – ''Waren ab Lager'' “goods from stock”.^(Paul 2002)

+ * Late 19th century – The preposition returns before places and times: ''ab 8 Uhr''.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Preposition===

+ # ''(commerce, transport)'' From, starting from a place: ''Der Zug fährt ab Köln.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # From a point in time on: ''ab nächster Woche''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # In a sequence or amount, from … upwards: ''Eintritt ab 16 Jahren''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary DE)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Away, off: ''zwei Kilometer vom Weg ab''; also in brisk orders: ''ab nach Hause!''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # Down, in commands: ''Gewehr ab!''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' Off, [[m|en|detached]]: ''Der Henkel ist ab.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''ab und zu'', ''(northern)'' ''ab und an'': now and then, [[m|en|occasionally]].^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[abhanden]]

+ * [[abseits]]

+ * [[abwärts]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[aber]]

+ * [[Ebbe]]

+ * [[en|off]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}