klassisch German · revision 36267

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1748|origins=la classis}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈklasɪʃ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''klassisch''' (strong nominative masculine singular klassischer, comparative klassischer, superlative am klassischsten)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la-med|classicus|t=exemplary, model]], from [[la|classicus|t=of the classes of Roman citizens; of the first class]], from [[m|la|classis|t=class]], borrowed in the 18th century under the influence of [[fr|classique]].^(Kluge 2011|496)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|438) The Latin adjective first meant “belonging to the first of the classes of citizens”, then “first-rate”;^(Kluge 2011|496)^(Paul 2002)^(DWB|11, 1006) Aulus Gellius (2nd century) applied it to a writer of the first rank.^(Kluge 2011|496)^(Paul 2002)^(DWB|11, 1006)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Paul's first German record is from 1748, when Wedekind wrote of Gottsched's grammar that it would make itself ''klassisch''.^(Paul 2002) At first the word was used mainly of the model writers of Greek and Roman antiquity and of all that concerned them.^(DWB|11, 1006)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense soon widened to “exemplary, artistically perfect” in general: Lessing applied it in 1759 to Shaftesbury and Logau, and Adelung in 1774 defined a ''klassischer Schriftsteller'' as a writer of taste who had reached the greatest perfection.^(Paul 2002) Herder protested in 1767 against the word, which had turned Cicero and Horace into school authors.^(Paul 2002) With antiquity it became close to [[antik]], as in ''auf classischem Boden'' in Goethe's ''Roman Elegies''.^(DWB|11, 1006)^(Paul 2002) Goethe set it against [[romantisch]]: ''Classisch ist das Gesunde, romantisch das Kranke'' (“the classical is the healthy, the romantic the sick”).^(Paul 2002)

+

+ Later came “traditional” (''das klassische Weltbild'') and “typical” (''ein klassischer Fall'').^(Pfeifer 1993) The noun [[Klassiker]] dates from the 18th century, [[Klassik]] from the 19th.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Kluge 2011|496)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1748 – First German record.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1759 – Lessing applies it to modern writers.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1767 – Herder protests against the word.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1774 – Schubart writes of ''die lateinischen Klassiker''.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 19th century – ''Klassik'' and ''Klassizismus'' are formed.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Relating to Greek and Roman [[Antike|alt=antiquity]]: ''die klassischen Sprachen'', Greek and Latin;^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Duden Fremdwörterbuch 2007) ''klassische Philologie''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Duden Fremdwörterbuch 2007)

+ # In the style of, or belonging to, a [[Klassik|alt=classical period]] of art: ''klassische Musik''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary DE)

+ # Perfect in form, [[m|en|timeless]]: ''ein Mantel von klassischem Schnitt''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary DE)

+ # [[m|en|traditional|alt=Traditional]], conventional; [[m|en|typical]]: ''ein klassischer Fall''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' Great, excellent: ''Die Party war einfach klassisch!''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Klassiker]]

+ * [[Klassik]]

+ * [[Klassizismus]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Klasse]]

+ * [[en|classic]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}