Morgen German · revision 35830

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈmɔrɡən/, [ˈmɔʁ-], [ˈmɔɐ̯-]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Morgen''' ''m'' (genitive Morgens, plural Morgen or (colloquial) Morgende)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|morgen]], [[inh|goh|morgan]], [[inh|gem-pro|*murginaz|t=morning]].^(Kluge 2011|635)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Kroonen 2013)^(Wiktionary) The same word is [[got|𐌼𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌲𐌹𐌽𐍃|tr=maurgins]], [[non|morginn]], [[ang|morgen]], [[ofs|morn]] and [[osx|morgan]], and [[en|morning]] is an extension of it, formed like evening.^(Kluge 2011|635)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002) Beside it stand forms with other ablaut grades of the suffix, such as [[m|non|myrginn]] and [[m|ang|mergen]];^(Kroonen 2013)^(Pfeifer 1993) Kroonen finds the relation between them unclear, and Gothic and Norse continue a form with the suffix [[gem-pro|*-ena-]] against West Germanic [[m|gem-pro|*murganaz]].^(Kroonen 2013)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ Its further origin is uncertain.^(Kroonen 2013)^(DWB|12, 2556) Kluge takes the original meaning to be “twilight” and compares Slavic words for growing dark, from a root [[ine-pro|*merk-|t=to flicker, sparkle]] also seen in [[sga|mrecht|t=variegated]] and [[lt|mérkti|t=to close the eyes, blink]]; he adds that [[sa|मरीचि|tr=márīci|t=ray of light]] may be closer to the Germanic word.^(Kluge 2011|635) Pfeifer compares, with reservations, [[cu|мракъ|tr=mrakŭ|t=darkness]], [[ru|морок|tr=mórok|t=darkness, fog]] and [[sa|मर्क|tr=marká|t=eclipse of the sun]], and Duden prefers the simpler root [[ine-pro|*mer-|t=to flicker, shimmer]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|565)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''morgan'' is recorded from the end of the 8th century in glosses and then in the Monsee Fragments, Tatian, Otfrid and Notker.^(EWA|6, 557)^(Köbler AHD) Besides “morning, beginning of the day” it already meant “the next day”, and it glossed Latin ''iugerum'', a measure of land.^(EWA|6, 557)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The measure of land, recorded in Old High German, was as much land as a team of oxen could plough in one morning.^(Kluge 2011|635)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden GWDS 1999) Polish borrowed it as ''morga'' (1607), and English took ''morgen'' from Dutch in the 1620s.^(LWP)^(Etymonline) From the 15th century, and more often from Luther on, ''Morgen'' also meant the east, where the sun rises;^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|565) Luther's [[Morgenland]] “the East” rendered Greek ''anatolḗ''.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|565) The greeting ''guten Morgen'' goes back to Middle High German and is short for “God give you a good morning”.^(Paul 2002) In newer use the word can stand for a new beginning.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ The adverb [[morgen]] “tomorrow” was the dative “in the morning”, then “on the following morning”, and the noun ''das Morgen'' “the future” was made from it.^(Kluge 2011|635)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary) Wieland's 1766 translation of Hamlet's ''I scent the morning air'' as ''ich wittere die Morgen-Luft'' gave the colloquial phrase ''Morgenluft wittern'', to see one's chance.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 8th century – Old High German ''morgan'' appears in glosses.^(EWA|6, 557)^(Köbler AHD)

+ * 10th century – First use as a measure of land.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 15th century – ''Morgen'' begins to mean “east”.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|565)

+ * 16th century – Luther's Bible has ''Morgenland''.^(Duden 7 2020|565)^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1607 – Polish borrows the land measure as ''morga''.^(LWP)

+ * 1620s – English takes ''morgen'' as a land measure from Dutch.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1766 – Wieland coins ''Morgen-Luft wittern'' in his Hamlet translation.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|morning|alt=Morning]], the time of day around daybreak and the early part of the forenoon: ''Am nächsten Morgen regnete es.'' ''Guten Morgen!''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(archaic, poetic)'' The [[m|en|east]].^(Wiktionary)^(Wiktionary DE)

+ # ''(dated)'' A [[m|en|morgen]], an old measure of land, varying by region, often about a quarter of a hectare: ''Der Hof hatte dreißig Morgen Acker.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)^(Wiktionary DE)

+ # ''das Morgen'' (neuter, no plural): the future, tomorrow: ''Sie denken nur an heute und nicht an das Morgen.''^(Wiktionary)^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[morgig]]

+ * [[morgens]]

+ * [[morgendlich]]

+ * [[Morgenland]]

+ * [[Morgenrot]]

+ * [[Morgenröte]]

+ * [[Morgengabe]]

+ * [[Morgenstunde]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[morgen]]

+ * [[en|morning]]

+ * [[en|morn]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The proverb ''Morgenstund hat Gold im Mund'' (“the morning hour has gold in its mouth”), meaning that work goes best early in the day, may come from a Latin school sentence, ''aurora habet aurum in ore'', in which the dawn is pictured with gold in her hair and mouth.^(Duden 7 2020|565) A Cologne coin of the 15th century was also called ''morgen''; the Grimms thought the name was a corruption of Latin ''mauriculus''.^(DWB|12, 2563)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}