wahr German · revision 36163

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 8th century, Old High German glosses and Isidor|origins=ine-pro *werə-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /vaːr/, [vaː(ɐ̯)], [vaːʁ]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''wahr''' (strong nominative masculine singular wahrer, comparative wahrer, superlative am wahrsten)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|wār]], [[inh|goh|wār]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*wār]], [[inh|gem-pro|*wēraz]].^(Kluge 2011|967)^(Wiktionary)^(Pfeifer 1993) Beside it stood a j-stem [[m|goh|wāri]], [[m|gmh|wære]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary) The same word is [[osx|wār]], [[nl|waar]], [[ofs|wēr]] and [[ang|wǣr]].^(Kluge 2011|967)^(Pfeifer 1993) Outside Germanic it matches [[la|vērus|t=true]] and [[sga|fír|t=true]].^(Kluge 2011|967)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|917)

+

+ Kluge takes the adjective as formed to an old noun meaning “trust, faith, assent”, seen in [[grc|ἦρα|tr=êra|t=favour]], in [[gem-pro|*wērō|t=promise, pledge, treaty]] ([[m|goh|wāra|t=faith, protection]], [[m|ang|wǣr]], [[non|várar|t=vows]]) and in [[cu|вѣра|tr=věra|t=faith, trust]].^(Kluge 2011|967)^(Pfeifer 1993) That noun belongs to the verbal root of [[wahren]], “to heed”; the adjective first meant “trustworthy”.^(Kluge 2011|967)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002) Pfeifer and Duden 7 give the root as “to show favour, friendliness”, and connect [[gewähren]] and the second part of [[albern]] with it.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|917)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Kluge dates ''wār'' to the 8th century;^(Kluge 2011|967)^(Köbler AHD) Köbler finds it in glosses and in the Old High German Isidor of the end of the 8th century.^(Kluge 2011|967)^(Köbler AHD) Its Middle High German senses were “true, truthful, real, certain, genuine, right”.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From “trustworthy” the word came to mean “real, certain, genuine”.^(Paul 2002) Its main use is of statements that agree with the facts, and of what is still to come, which may ''wahr werden'' or be made true (''wahr machen''); ''es nicht wahrhaben wollen'' is to refuse to admit it.^(Paul 2002) Placed before a noun it marks something as real, not just claimed (''ein wahrer Freund''), and it can intensify, as in ''eine wahre Flut von Briefen''.^(Paul 2002)^(Duden GWDS 1999) Of people it meant “sincere”, as in Schiller.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ The neuter was used as a noun in Old and Middle High German, and traces of this survive in [[wahrsagen]] and [[zwar]];^(Paul 2002) ''für war'' gave [[fürwahr]].^(Paul 2002) ''Wahrheit'' is recorded from the 9th century and ''wahrhaft'' from the 8th.^(Pfeifer 1993) ''wahrscheinlich'' appears in the 17th century, probably after [[nl|waarschijnlijk]], itself a rendering of [[la|vērisimilis]].^(Duden 7 2020|917)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 8th century – Old High German ''wār'' and ''wārhaft'' are recorded.^(Kluge 2011|967)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 9th century – ''wārheit'' “truth” is recorded.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 15th century – ''Wahrsager'' “fortune-teller” is formed.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 17th century – ''wahrscheinlich'' appears.^(Duden 7 2020|917)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|true]], agreeing with the facts; really happened, not invented: ''Der Film erzählt eine wahre Geschichte.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary) ''nicht wahr?'': isn't it?, don't you think?^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # Real, actual: ''Den wahren Grund hat er nie verraten.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # Genuine, [[m|en|sincere]], deserving its name: ''eine wahre Freundin''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Used to intensify: a real, a downright: ''ein wahres Chaos''.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Wahrheit]]

+ * [[wahrhaft]]

+ * [[wahrhaftig]]

+ * [[wahrlich]]

+ * [[wahrsagen]]

+ * [[Wahrsager]]

+ * [[wahrscheinlich]]

+ * [[wahrhaben]]

+ * [[fürwahr]]

+ * [[bewähren]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[wahren]]

+ * [[gewähren]]

+ * [[zwar]]

+ * [[la|vērus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Fixed phrases are ''so wahr ich lebe'' and the oath formula ''so wahr mir Gott helfe'', and the saying ''was wahr ist, muss wahr bleiben''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}