Lad
Bursche or Bursch is a word that today stands in several separate meanings in the field of pupils / students, boys / men, assistants / servants.
etymology
The word Bursche (pl .: Burschen ) or Bursch (Pl .: Bursche ) is derived from the Latin bursa 'bag' and originally referred to a general financial community. The word is found for grantees as well as bursgesell as mercenaries , burs as Mitbelehntem . The stock exchange , the financial interest group, is based on the same importance .
Student fellow
In the Middle Ages, college students lived and worked in the bursa . The entirety of the inhabitants of a Burse, Bursarii, Bursanten or Bursgesellen, Bursale, also Bursalis, Bursgesell and Bursenknecht were also referred to as the Bursch . Only gradually has this expression been transferred to the individual resident. In the 17th century the meaning changed again: the boy (e) became a general term for a student , almost synonymous. While the term student referred more to the aspect of the studying young person, the term Bursch (e) illuminated more the way of life of the students in their spare time and the very special culture associated with it. Only someone who was familiar with the manners and customs of the students was considered a “real boy”.
Nevertheless, at the beginning of the 19th century, the word fraternity was still a synonym for student body , as can be seen from speeches at the Wartburg Festival in 1817:
“That is precisely why you do not have to give yourself names that contradict this universality. You don't have to call yourself white, black, red, blue, etc. because there are others too; you don't have to call yourself Teutons either; for the others are also Teutons. Your name be what you are alone and exclusively, namely student body or fraternity. This includes all of you, and nobody else. "
Change of meaning in the student associations
This designation is in contrast to the designation Fuchs or Fux , with which a student is assigned in about the first two semesters who, as a newcomer, must first acquire this culture and behave accordingly insecure.
A narrowing of meaning in the student language of the 19th century made the term boy a name for a full member of a student union who has successfully completed his probationary period as a fox or fux. This connotation is still common today in most student associations, even if there are no fraternities - just a part of the totality of all student corporations - but corps , country teams , gymnastics associations , singers' associations (etc.).
The student associations referring to the values and principles of the original fraternity call themselves “ fraternities ”, whose members, active students such as old men , are called “fraternities”. The name goes back to the founders of the original fraternity, who had an association of all students, in the former name boys, in mind.
Change of meaning in general language: bachelor, boy
In return, an expansion of the meaning in the standard German language, into which the word had meanwhile penetrated, made this a term for an unmarried man ( young men ) in general, and originally meant the bachelors of both sexes ( village boys = the single men of the village, craft boys = apprentices and journeymen , until the marriage entitled to Championship ) - with the focus being on the meaning unmarried , not young : this is the word of has Altbursch or old boys (parallel to old spinster received).
In southern Germany, Austria and South Tyrol one speaks dialectally of Bavarian boys and girls , Austrian boys and dirndls ( Madl Dim. Zu Maid 'Jungfrau'; Dirndln ' Mädchen , Junge Frau, Jungfrau ', etym. Zu Dirne , 'Dienst maid ') , transferred to the garment only secondarily ). Later, the original aspect of young men is lost, and boys and girls are synonymous with boys and girls with young people - the word cannot be used for children , here is Upper German in general boy .
In many villages there is still a boys' association today .
Change of meaning in military language: orderly
As orderlies in were German army the officers of all ranks, doctors and paymasters for personal use remitted soldiers of active service to state which does not corporal could be. Each officer received only one officer boy. Called officer servants in Austria , these were not counted among the combatants , but were drafted for duty without a weapon. This function became famous in the role of the good soldier Schwejk .
The establishment of the Reichswehr in the Weimar Republic resulted in the end of the officer boys in Germany. The soldiers assigned to maintenance service took over part of their duties .
Derivation as a service occupation: carpenter, house boy
The term goes from the officer's house boy to that of the upper household, and then specifically to the hotel industry . Here the word equal importance is the expression Page , waiter '- which also military origin, as a squire of a knight.
Today we used room lad as masculine of maids , house boy as masculine to housemaids as a service profession.
Change of meaning to pejorative
Noblemen and knights used the word lad , as the epitome of the servant like guy, also as a swear word, for example to describe a "bad guy" as such.
Maid goes the same pejorative way to maid 'maid', but is spared from being degraded to a swear word (like woman ). Bube , synonymous with 'lad, boy, boy ', but also shows himself as a 'rascal, bad boy'.
Adjectivation: boyish
The derived adjective boyish - a relic from a joke student fashion of the 18th century that graced the word "boy" as well as other words with endings to "-ikos" - denoted a behavior, an appearance or a language that was typical and considered appropriate for a "decent" student. Burschikos also stood in contrast to philistine . It was used to describe the behavior or appearance of the Philistines , that is, of the non-studying citizens whom the “real” lads looked down on.
In the course of language development the meaning changed towards boyish, boyish, informal, uncomplicated behavior. This word is often used in relation to the appearance and behavior of women and in this sense indicates a more masculine, boyish appearance.
literature
- BURS, BURSE and spread BURSCH, BURSCHE. In: Jacob Grimm , Wilhelm Grimm (Hrsg.): German dictionary . tape 2 : Beer murderer – D - (II). S. Hirzel, Leipzig 1860, Sp. 546-550 ( woerterbuchnetz.de ).
Web links
swell
- ↑ quoted from Lorenz Oken in Isis or Encyclopädische Zeitung , published for the Wartburg Festival in 1817, see archive link ( memento of the original from January 8, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ officer boy . In: Meyers Konversationslexikon . Vol. 14, Leipzig, Vienna 1906
- ↑ officer boy . In: Big Brockhaus . Vol. 13, Leipzig 1932
- ^ Friedrich Kluge, Etymological Dictionary of the German Language , Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, 1989, p. 116
