schwach German · revision 36077

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=13th century, Middle High German|origins=gmw-pro *swak}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈʃvax/, [ˈʃʋaχ]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''schwach''' (strong nominative masculine singular schwacher, comparative schwächer, superlative am schwächsten)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|swach|t=bad, low, worthless; feeble]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*swak]].^(Kluge 2011|831)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary) Old High German has no record of it;^(DWB|15, 2148)^(Köbler AHD) Köbler sets up an unattested [[goh|*swah]].^(DWB|15, 2148)^(Köbler AHD) The word is confined to German and Dutch: the same word is [[gml|swak]], [[dum|swac|t=pliant, frail]] and [[nl|zwak]].^(Kluge 2011|831)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|762)

+

+ Kluge compares [[m|gml|swāken|t=to become weak, totter]] and dialectal [[no|svaga|t=to sway, dangle]], so that the first sense would have been “pliant, swaying”; it resembles [[schwanken]] and [[schwingen]], but has no exact match elsewhere.^(Kluge 2011|831) Pfeifer and the Duden place it with the family of that verb, as a form without the nasal of [[ine-pro|*su̯eng-|t=to bend, swing]], that is [[ine-pro|*su̯eg-]];^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|762)^(Köbler AHD) Pfeifer also cites [[non|sveggja|t=to swing to and fro]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|762)^(Köbler AHD) Jacob Grimm had linked it with words for smell such as [[goh|swehhan|t=to smell, stink]], but the Grimms' dictionary itself prefers other explanations.^(DWB|15, 2148)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Kluge dates the word to the 13th century.^(Kluge 2011|831) Köbler's earliest dated text is a ''Servatius'' legend of about 1190, and the Middle High German word is found in the ''Nibelungenlied'', Wolfram's ''Willehalm'', Konrad von Würzburg and the ''Passional''.^(Köbler MHD)^(Lexer 1872|2, 1330) It meant “bad, poor, of little worth, low, ignoble”: ''swach korn'' is poor grain, ''swachiu wæte'' shabby clothes, and ''ein swacher man'' a man of low rank.^(Lexer 1872|2, 1330)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Paul notes that at first the word meant “worthless, slight”; the modern sense, the opposite of [[stark]], spread from phrases such as ''schwacher Leib'' “weak body” and ''schwacher Magen'' “weak stomach”, and took over a job done in Middle High German by [[krank]].^(Paul 2002) The Grimms' dictionary says that in newer German the sense “low, wretched, bad” gave way entirely to “lacking strength, not doing what is expected”.^(DWB|15, 2148) From there it became a general word of quantity, “thin” (a thin thread, weak coffee, a dilute solution, a faint light, a quiet voice), and of quality: Luther's ''Der Geist ist willig, aber das Fleisch ist schwach'' (Matthew 26:41) made it a word for moral frailty, and ''schwach im Glauben'' “weak in faith” is from Romans 14:1.^(Paul 2002) The phrase ''schwache Seite'' “weak point” of character, current from the 18th century, was first military, of an inadequately fortified or covered side.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ In grammar Jacob Grimm used ''schwach'' and ''stark'' for the two inflections of German verbs, nouns and adjectives, the weak one marked by an added ''-n'';^(Paul 2002) the English word [[m|en|weak]] took this grammatical sense in 1833.^(LWP) Russian borrowed it as [[m|ru|швах|tr=švax]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1190 – Middle High German ''swach'' in a ''Servatius'' legend.^(Köbler MHD)

+ * 13th century – The word becomes current in Middle High German.^(Kluge 2011|831)

+ * 18th century – ''schwache Seite'' “weak point” of a person's character.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1833 – English ''weak'' is first used in this grammatical sense.^(LWP)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Physically [[m|en|weak]], having little strength: ''Nach der Grippe war er noch sehr schwach.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Not working well, not resistant: ''ein schwaches Herz'', ''schwache Nerven''; figuratively ''ein schwacher Wille'', a will that gives in easily.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # Thin, not sturdy, not able to bear much load: ''Der Ast war zu schwach für die Schaukel.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # Not numerous: ''eine schwache Beteiligung'', a poor turnout.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # Of low concentration, [[m|en|dilute]]: ''schwacher Tee''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Paul 2002)

+ # Of low power or effectiveness: ''ein schwacher Motor''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # Not good at something, or poor in quality: ''Sie ist schwach in Chemie'';^(Duden GWDS 1999) ''ein schwacher Film''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # Faint, slight, not intense: ''ein schwacher Wind'', ''eine schwache Hoffnung''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(grammar)'' Weak: of verbs, forming the past with a dental suffix; of nouns and adjectives, having ''-n'' in most forms.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Schwachkopf]]

+ * [[Schwachsinn]]

+ * [[schwächen]]

+ * [[schwächlich]]

+ * [[Schwachstelle]]

+ * [[Schwäche]]

+ * [[Schwachheit]]

+ * [[Schwächling]]

+ * [[Schwachmatikus]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[schwächeln]]

+ * [[schwanken]]

+ * [[schwingen]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}