betreffen German · revision 36177

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=16th century|origins=gem-pro *drepaną}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * [bəˈtʁɛfɱ̩], [bəˈtʁɛfən]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''betreffen''' (class 4 strong, third-person singular present betrifft, past tense betraf, past participle betroffen, past subjunctive beträfe, auxiliary haben)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a prefixed verb [[af|de|be-|treffen]], formed in Early New High German.^(Paul 2002)^(Wiktionary) The Grimms found no Old or Middle High German form of the verb,^(DWB|1, 1710) though the simple verb [[goh|treffan]] could already mean “to concern, apply to”.^(Schützeichel 2012|335)^(Köbler AHD) That verb is [[m|gmh|treffen]], from [[gem-pro|*drepaną|t=to strike]], also in [[osx|drepan]], [[ang|drepan|t=to strike, kill]] and [[non|drepa|t=to strike, kill]]; it has no certain cognates outside Germanic.^(Kluge 2011|927)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In the 16th century ''betreffen'' meant “to meet with, catch in the act”.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002) The Early New High German dictionary records “to concern, relate to” as its best-attested sense, beside “to strike”, “to catch, overtake” and “to amount to”.^(FWB)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Paul distinguishes three senses: “to catch in a deed”, common until the 19th century, as in Goethe's ''ich hab ihn selber betroffen über der That'';^(Paul 2002)^(DWB|1, 1710) “to befall” (of misfortune); and “to concern”, especially in the chancery style, with ''was mich betrifft''.^(Paul 2002)^(DWB|1, 1710) From the last came [[Betreff]] in the 18th century, first the heading stating what a document is about.^(Paul 2002) The participle ''betroffen'' “dismayed” goes back, from the 18th century, to the sense “to befall”, and in recent decades ''die Betroffenen'' are the people affected by a decision.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 16th century – ''betreffen'' “to meet with, catch in the act”.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 18th century – ''betroffen'' “dismayed”; the noun ''Betreff''.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002)

+ * 19th century – The sense “to catch in the act” goes out of use.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|concern]], apply to, have to do with: ''Die neue Regel betrifft alle Schüler.'';^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary) ''was mich betrifft'', as for me.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(elevated)'' To [[m|en|befall]]: ''Ein schweres Unwetter hat die Region betroffen.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(elevated)'' To affect deeply, dismay.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(dated)'' To meet with, catch: ''jemanden bei einer Lüge betreffen''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Betreff]]

+ * [[betreffend]]

+ * [[betreffs]]

+ * [[betroffen]]

+ * [[Betroffenheit]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[treffen]]

+ * [[übertreffen]]

+ * [[zutreffen]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}