Abstract
Abstract The nominal suffix ‑er is polysemous in contemporary German. It is not only used for the formation of terms designating persons (Maler ‘artist’) but also animals (Würger ‘shrike’), objects (Entsafter ‘juicer’) and events (Seufzer ‘sigh’). Until now, there has been little research into the way this polysemy has developed in the course of German language history. The central theme of this article is the reconstruction of its origin and development from Old High German onwards. It will be demonstrated that the various meanings of ‑er occur as a result of different strands of development, for which both language contact phenomena and semantic change have been decisive.
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