Gedanke German · revision 36242

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ɡəˈdaŋkə/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Gedanke''' ''m'' (genitive Gedankens or (nonstandard but common) Gedanken, plural Gedanken)^(Wiktionary)

+ Adelung notes that some speakers used a nominative ''der Gedanken'', genitive ''des Gedankens''.^(Adelung 1793|2, 461) Duden marks this form as obsolete.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|gedanc]], [[inh|goh|gidanc]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*ga-þanka-|t=thought]].^(Kluge 2011|338)^(Pfeifer 1993) The same word is [[osx|githanko]], [[gml|gedanke]], [[dum|gedanc]] and [[ang|geþanc]].^(Kluge 2011|338)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(EWA|4, 229) It is an old verbal noun of [[denken]], formed without that verb's suffix ⟨-j-⟩, which suggests an early formation.^(Kluge 2011|338) The verb goes back to [[gem-pro|*þankijaną|t=to think]], also in [[got|𐌸𐌰𐌲𐌺𐌾𐌰𐌽|tr=þagkjan]] and [[ang|þencan]].^(Kluge 2011|190) Kluge compares [[la|tongeō|t=to know]] and suggests that thinking was first “weighing”.^(Kluge 2011|190)

+

+ Old High German had a strong noun, while the weak forms of modern German seem to have come from the north, from Old Saxon and Low German.^(Kluge 2011|338)^(EWA|4, 229) The Scandinavian words, such as [[sv|tanke]], [[da|tanke]] and [[is|þanki]], were borrowed from Low German.^(EWA|4, 229)^(DWB|4, 1940) In English the word was replaced by [[m|en|thought]], which matches the participle [[gedacht]].^(DWB|4, 1940)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''gidanc'' is recorded from the end of the 8th century, in glosses and in the Isidor translation, and then in Otfrid, Notker, the Benedictine Rule and several confessions.^(Köbler AHD)^(EWA|4, 229)^(Schützeichel 2012|67) It meant “thought, thinking, mind, disposition, intention, insight”, glossing Latin ''cogitatio'', ''intentio'' and ''intellectus''.^(EWA|4, 229)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Until the 16th century ''Gedanke'' could also mean “soul, mind” in general.^(Paul 2002) It came to stand for the process of thinking, as in Luther's Sirach: ''fallen jm mancherley Gedancken für'' (“many thoughts come to him”), and for what is thought, the result of thinking.^(Paul 2002) ''Sich Gedanken machen'' “to worry” dates from the first half of the 17th century, and ''jemanden auf andere Gedanken bringen'' “to distract someone” is in Kramer's dictionary of 1700.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ The [[Gedankenstrich]] (dash), recorded in the 18th century, marks where thoughts break off or are inserted.^(Kluge 2011|338)^(Pfeifer 1993) ''Gedankenfreiheit'' “freedom of thought” also dates from the 18th century, in Schiller.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 8th century – Old High German ''gidanc'' appears in glosses and the Isidor translation.^(Köbler AHD)^(EWA|4, 229)

+ * 16th century – The general sense “soul, mind” goes out of use.^(Paul 2002)

+ * First half of the 17th century – ''sich Gedanken machen'' “to worry” is recorded.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1700 – Kramer records ''auf andere Gedanken bringen''.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 18th century – ''Gedankenstrich'' and ''Gedankenfreiheit'' appear.^(Kluge 2011|338)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|thought]]: something that is or has been thought; a consideration.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The thinking about something, the thought of it: ''schon der Gedanke an die Prüfung'' “the mere thought of the exam”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(plural)'' An [[m|en|opinion]] or view.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # An [[m|en|idea]], a plan or intention.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A [[m|en|concept]], a guiding idea.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[gedankenlos]]

+ * [[Gedankenfreiheit]]

+ * [[Gedankenstrich]]

+ * [[gedanklich]]

+ * [[Hintergedanke]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[denken]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Sich Gedanken machen'' means “to worry” (about someone or something) or “to think something over”;^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Paul 2002) ''in Gedanken versunken sein'' is to be lost in thought.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}