verschwinden German · revision 36275

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=9th century, Old High German glosses|origins=gmw-pro *swendan}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /fɛɐ̯ˈʃvɪndn̩/, /fɛɐ̯ˈʃvɪndən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''verschwinden''' (class 3 strong, third-person singular present verschwindet, past tense verschwand, past participle verschwunden, past subjunctive verschwände, auxiliary sein)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|verswinden]], [[inh|goh|firswintan]], formed [[af|de|ver-|schwinden]].^(Wiktionary)^(Köbler AHD)^(DWB|25, 1217)^(Duden GWDS 1999) The same formation is [[osx|farswindan]], [[gml|vorswinden]] and [[nl|verzwinden]], while [[da|forsvinde]] and [[sv|försvinna]] were taken from German.^(DWB|25, 1217)

+

+ [[schwinden]] is [[goh|swintan|t=to waste away, wither, faint]], [[gmh|swinden]], and is the same word as [[ang|swindan]], from [[gmw-pro|*swendan]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(EWA|8, 1592) Its further origin is uncertain.^(Pfeifer 1993) Pfeifer compares Slavic verbs for “to wither” such as [[ru|вянуть|tr=vjanutʹ]], which would point to a root [[ine-pro|*(s)u̯endʰ-|t=to dwindle]], and notes the similar [[goh|swīnan|t=to diminish]];^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Köbler AHD) Köbler gives the root with a question mark.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Köbler AHD)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''firswintan'' is first recorded in glosses of the second quarter of the 9th century and then in Notker, meaning “to vanish, waste away, melt, perish”.^(Köbler AHD)^(Pfeifer 1993) The simple verb ''swintan'' is found in glosses from about 800.^(EWA|8, 1592)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The compound came to mean that something grows fainter to the senses or passes away altogether, but it is also used when the thing itself remains intact, as when the sun disappears behind a cloud.^(Paul 2002) Adelung (1793) defines it as withdrawing quickly from sight, and quotes the angel of the Lord who vanished in Judges 6:21.^(Adelung 1793) ''Etwas verschwinden lassen'' came to mean “to steal”, and the present participle forms ''verschwindend gering'' “vanishingly small”.^(Paul 2002) Colloquially ''verschwinden'' is simply “to leave”, and euphemistically “to go to the toilet”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 800 – Old High German ''swintan'' appears in glosses.^(EWA|8, 1592)

+ * 9th century – ''firswintan'' is recorded in glosses.^(Köbler AHD)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * c. 1000 – Notker uses the verb.^(Köbler AHD)^(Adelung 1793)

+ * 1793 – Adelung records ''verschwinden'' with the auxiliary ''sein''.^(Adelung 1793)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To move out of someone's sight and no longer be visible; to [[m|en|disappear]], [[m|en|vanish]]: ''Das Boot verschwand hinter der Insel.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To cease to exist; to be lost, go missing;^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary DE)^(Paul 2002) ''etwas verschwinden lassen'', to make something disappear, to steal it.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary DE)^(Paul 2002)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' To [[m|en|leave]], go away;^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary) ''verschwinde!'', “get lost!”; euphemistically, to go to the toilet.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' To take the value zero.^(Wiktionary DE)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Verschwinden]]

+ * [[verschwindend]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[verschwenden]]

+ * [[schwinden]]

+ * [[Schwindel]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}