Osten German · revision 35982

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1000, Notker|origins=ine-pro *h₂ews-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈɔstən/, /ˈɔstn̩/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Osten''' ''m'' (genitive Ostens, no plural)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|ōsten]], [[inh|goh|ōstan]], a noun made from the adverb of direction [[m|goh|ōstana|t=from the east]].^(Kluge 2011|674)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|602) The adverb is matched by [[osx|ōstana|t=in, from the east]], [[ang|ēastan|t=from the east]] and [[non|austan|t=from the east]].^(Kluge 2011|674)^(Pfeifer 1993)

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+ The Germanic stem, [[gem-pro|*austrą|t=east]] in Wiktionary's form, is connected with the Indo-European word for the dawn, [[ine-pro|*h₂ewsṓs|alt=*ausōs|t=dawn]], found in [[sa|उषस्|tr=uṣás|t=dawn]], [[la|aurōra|t=dawn]], [[grc|ἠώς|tr=ēṓs|t=dawn]] and [[lt|aušra|t=dawn]], so the east is the quarter of the dawn.^(Kluge 2011|674)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|602)^(Wiktionary) The sense “east” is also in [[ae|ušastara-|t=eastern]], [[lv|austrums|t=east]] and probably originally in [[la|auster|t=south wind]], which Kluge explains by a re-orientation in which the direction taken as “front” shifted from sunrise to the noon sun.^(Kluge 2011|674)^(Pfeifer 1993) Duden and Kluge also connect [[Ostern]] with this group.^(Duden 7 2020|602)^(Kluge 2011|674)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The adverb ''ōstana'' “from the east” is recorded in a charter of 827, and in Tatian and Otfrid.^(Köbler AHD)^(Schützeichel 2012|246) The noun ''ōstan'' “east” appears about 1000 in Notker, and as ''ostanonti'' already in the 8th century.^(Köbler AHD)^(Kluge 2011|674)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Besides the direction of sunrise, ''Osten'' came to mean the eastern lands, the Orient: Goethe's ''West-östlicher Divan'' urges the reader to flee to the “pure East”.^(DWB|13, 1370)^(Paul 2002) The shorter [[Ost]] was formed in the 15th century on the model of [[Nord]] and [[Süd]], and meant the east wind from the 17th century; it is still usual among seamen.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|602)^(Paul 2002) The older adverb [[m|goh|ōstar|t=in the east, eastward]] survives in the name [[Österreich]].^(Duden 7 2020|602)

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+ After the Second World War ''der Osten'' meant the Communist countries of eastern Europe and Asia, and in Germany the Soviet zone and the GDR: hence ''Ostblock'', ''Ostzone'' and the ''Ost-West-Konflikt''.^(Paul 2002)^(Duden GWDS 1999) Since 1989 ''Ossi'' has been a mocking name for an East German, and ''Ostalgie'', a blend of ''Ostdeutschland'' and ''Nostalgie'', was the name of a cabaret series in 1992.^(Paul 2002) English borrowed the phrase ''Drang nach Osten'' in 1906.^(LWP)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 8th century – The form ''ostanonti'' is recorded.^(Kluge 2011|674)

+ * 827 – The adverb ''ōstana'' appears in a charter.^(Köbler AHD)

+ * About 1000 – Notker uses the noun ''ōstan''.^(Köbler AHD)

+ * 1440 – First record of the short form ''ost''.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 17th century – ''Ost'' also means “east wind”.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1906 – First English record of ''Drang nach Osten''.^(LWP)

+ * 1992 – ''Ostalgie'' becomes the name of a cabaret series.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|east]], the direction in which the sun rises: ''Das Schlafzimmer liegt nach Osten.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The eastern part of an area: ''im Osten der Stadt''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # The countries of eastern Europe and Asia, the [[m|en|Orient]]: ''der Ferne Osten'', ''der Nahe Osten''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(historical)'' The socialist countries, the [[m|en|Eastern Bloc]]; with the article, the territory of the former GDR.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[östlich]]

+ * [[Ost]]

+ * [[Ostwind]]

+ * [[Ostsee]]

+ * [[Osteuropa]]

+ * [[Ostblock]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Österreich]]

+ * [[Ostern]]

+ * [[en|east]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ In radio communication the word is sometimes pronounced with a long vowel, [ˈoːstn̩], to avoid confusion.^(Duden GWDS 1999) Some north German writers made it neuter, ''das Osten'', after Dutch.^(DWB|13, 1370)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}