stecken German · revision 35960

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈʃtɛkən/, [ˈʃtɛkən], [ˈʃtɛkŋ]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''stecken''' (weak or irregular strong, third-person singular present steckt, past tense steckte or (archaic) stak, past participle gesteckt, past subjunctive steckte or (archaic) stäke, auxiliary haben)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|stecken|t=to fasten by piercing; to stick fast]], [[inh|goh|steckōn|t=to stick fast, be fixed]].^(Kluge 2011|879)^(Pfeifer 1993) The Middle High German verb merges this intransitive durative, also written [[m|goh|steckēn]], with a causative [[m|goh|stecken|t=to fasten by piercing, nail on]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|816)^(Duden GWDS 1999) Both belong to [[stechen]] “to prick, pierce”, with a doubled consonant that Kluge thinks may at first have been intensive;^(Kluge 2011|879)^(Köbler AHD) Old High German also had [[m|goh|stehhōn|t=to prick, goad]].^(Kluge 2011|879)^(Köbler AHD) The EWA counts the causative as a causative-iterative of the Old High German verb for “to pierce”, whose root vowel it took over by analogy, and sees an older causative with another ablaut grade in [[non|steikja|t=to roast on a spit]].^(EWA|8, 1034)

+

+ The base verb goes back to [[gem-pro|*stekaną]].^(Wiktionary)^(Kluge 2011|879) Outside Germanic Kluge compares [[la|īnstīgō|t=to spur on]], [[grc|στίζω|tr=stízō|t=to tattoo, mark]] and, without the initial ⟨s⟩, [[sa|तिग्म|tr=tigmá|t=sharp, pointed]].^(Kluge 2011|879) Köbler and Pfeifer give the root as [[ine-pro|*(s)teyg-|t=to prick, pointed]].^(Köbler AHD)^(Pfeifer 1993) The noun [[Stecken]] “stick”, like [[ang|sticca]] and [[en|stick]], is close to it in form, though Kluge also weighs another source for it.^(Kluge 2011|879)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Köbler dates the first Old High German records of ''stehhōn'' to glosses of about 765, with the senses “to prick, pierce, goad with a stick, stick in”.^(Köbler AHD) The EWA finds the prefixed ''gistecken'' in glosses from about 800 meaning “to hold fast, pierce, pitch a tent”, and Schützeichel records the intransitive verb in Notker.^(EWA|8, 1034)^(Schützeichel 2012|313)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the transitive verb Paul starts from putting one thing into another with a push, as a needle into a dress, a sword into its sheath or a stake into the ground, and in farming beans and potatoes are “stuck” into the soil.^(Paul 2002) From there it came to mean bringing someone or something to a place without a thrust, as ''jemanden ins Gefängnis stecken'', and figuratively setting a goal or putting money and work into something.^(Paul 2002) The phrase ''jemandem etwas stecken'' “to tip someone off secretly” is quoted from Laukhard's memoirs.^(Paul 2002) Duden explains ''es jemandem stecken'' “to give someone a piece of one's mind” by the custom of the Vehmic courts, which pinned summonses to the door with a dagger.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ The intransitive verb has taken strong forms from [[stechen]] since the 16th century, so that ''stak'' stands beside ''steckte''.^(Kluge 2011|879)^(Duden 7 2020|816) Luther liked present forms such as ''du stickest'' and ''er stickt'', and Goethe wavered between the patterns.^(DWB|17, 1319) The old weak past of the transitive verb, ''stackte'', is still found at the end of the 17th century, in Reuter's ''Schelmuffsky'' of 1697.^(DWB|17, 1298) Among the derivatives, [[Stecknadel]] dates from the 15th century, [[Steckbrief]] and [[Steckrübe]] from the 16th, [[Stecker]] from the 17th and [[Steckling]] from the 18th; the ''Steckbrief'' was at first a warrant to put someone in prison.^(Duden 7 2020|816)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 765 – Old High German ''stehhōn'' appears in glosses.^(Köbler AHD)

+ * c. 800 – The prefixed ''gistecken'' is glossed.^(EWA|8, 1034)

+ * 15th century – First record of ''Stecknadel''.^(Duden 7 2020|816)

+ * 16th century – Strong forms such as ''stak'' appear;^(Kluge 2011|879)^(Duden 7 2020|816) ''Steckbrief'' and ''Steckrübe'' are first recorded.^(Kluge 2011|879)^(Duden 7 2020|816)

+ * 1697 – Reuter still uses the weak past ''stackte''.^(DWB|17, 1298)

+ * 17th century – First record of ''Stecker''.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 18th century – First record of ''Steckling''.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 20th century – ''Stecker'' comes to mean an electrical plug.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|816)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(transitive)'' To put something in a particular place, often through an opening; to [[m|en|insert]]: ''Er steckte den Schlüssel ins Schloss.'' ''Sie steckte das Handy in die Jackentasche.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(transitive)'' To fix or [[m|en|pin]] something on or in something: ''eine Brosche an die Bluse stecken''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(transitive, regional)'' To plant bulbs or tubers: ''Tulpenzwiebeln stecken''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(transitive, colloquial)'' To tell someone something secretly: ''Wer hat dir das gesteckt?'' Fixed phrase: ''es jemandem stecken'', to tell someone bluntly what one thinks.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(intransitive; past also stak)'' To be in a place where something has been put; to be stuck: ''Der Schlüssel steckt noch.'' ''Die Gräte steckte ihm im Hals.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(intransitive, colloquial)'' To be somewhere, to be hiding, or to be behind something: ''Wo steckst du denn?'' ''Wer steckt hinter diesem Gerücht?''^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(intransitive)'' To be full of something: ''Der Junge steckt voller Ideen.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(transitive, colloquial)'' To give something up: ''Den Ausflug können wir stecken.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Stecken]]

+ * [[Stecker]]

+ * [[Steckling]]

+ * [[verstecken]]

+ * [[Stecknadel]]

+ * [[Steckbrief]]

+ * [[Steckrübe]]

+ * [[anstecken]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[abstecken]]

+ * [[hochstecken]]

+ * [[stechen]]

+ * [[wegstecken]]

+ * [[zurückstecken]]

+ * [[Stich]]

+ * [[ersticken]]

+ * [[en|stick]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}