da

Signification

1. there; here
2. (temporal) then; so; at that moment
3. (colloquial) replaces any pronominal adverb when the context is clear

Fréquence

Prononcé comme (IPA)

/daː/

Étymologie

From a merger of three interrelated adverbs: 1.) Middle High German dā, dār (“there, at that place”), from Old High German thār, dār, from Proto-West Germanic *þār. 2.) Middle High German dar, dare (“thither, to that place”), from Old High German thara, dara, from an extended form of the former. 3.) Middle High German dō, duo (“then, at that time”), from Old High German thō, dō, duo, from Proto-Germanic *þō. The three forms were already sometimes intermingled in Old and Middle High German. The eventual loss of the distinction in modern German was reinforced by phonetic mergers in various dialects. Today, the senses of adverbs 1 and 3 are covered by da, while adverb 2 has been chiefly replaced with hin, dahin. The form dar- remains as a variant of da- before vowels and in some compound verbs (like darlegen, darbringen). Adverb 1 and 2 are cognate with Dutch daar, English there, Swedish där. Adverb 3 is cognate with Dutch toen.