damalig German · revision 36202

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 1600}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * [ˈdaːˌmaːlɪç]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''damalig''' (strong nominative masculine singular damaliger, not comparable)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|de|damal|-ig]], from the adverb meaning “at that time”, which goes back to late Middle High German.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary DE) That adverb, recorded from the end of the 15th century beside [[damalen]] (mid-15th century), is built from [[da]] and the noun [[Mal]] “point in time”, as is [[damals]], which has the adverbial genitive ending of [[gmh|des māles|t=at that time]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Kluge 2011|178)^(Duden 7 2007) The noun is [[goh|māl|t=mark, point in time]].^(Kluge 2011|178)^(Köbler AHD)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The adjective appears about 1600, at first occasionally as an adverb: a text of 1602 from Emden has “vnd hat man domahlig es gäntzlich dafür gehalten” (“and at that time it was wholly believed”).^(DWB2|6, 118) In 1610 Wehner writes of “den damalichen newen stern”, the new star of that time that announced Christ's birth to the Magi.^(DWB2|6, 118)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word became frequent only after 1650 and reached the dictionaries with Steinbach in 1734.^(DWB2|6, 118) It is used only before a noun, never as a predicate; the occasional adverbial use of the 17th and early 18th centuries died out.^(DWB2|6, 118)^(Pfeifer 1993) The spelling ''damalich'', not rare in the 17th century and found as late as 1839, is a variant of spelling, not a different formation.^(DWB2|6, 118) In 1774 Goethe's Werther speaks of “kein pulsschlag meines damaligen gefühls” (“no pulse of my feeling then”).^(DWB2|6, 118)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1602 – First record, used as an adverb.^(DWB2|6, 118)

+ * 1610 – First record as an attributive adjective.^(DWB2|6, 118)

+ * After 1650 – The word becomes frequent.^(DWB2|6, 118)

+ * 1734 – Steinbach's dictionary is the first to list it.^(DWB2|6, 118)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of that time; existing or prevailing [[m|en|then]], at a given time in the past: ''der damalige Bürgermeister der Stadt''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)^(FWB)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[damals]]

+ * [[dazumal]]

+ * [[Mal]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The adjective is used only attributively: one says ''die damalige Lage'', but not *''die Lage war damalig''.^(DWB2|6, 118)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}