Dictionary noun *dlegh- pflegen Pflicht Aufsichtspflicht
(noun)

Meanings

1.
supervisory responsibility
(Mainly in the context of kids. Parents have it and also people working in child care. Also works in the context of companies and boards.)
How useful: coming soon

Word Family

Root: *dlegh-

The core idea of this root was:

become fixed, engage oneself, pledge allegiance

The German source I am using mainly (Dwds.de) is not mentioning this root and only traces the family to a West-Germanic word that was about “taking responsibility“, which in German later shifted toward taking care, treating well.

The English source (Etymonline.com) mentions the same West Germanic ancestor, but then traces it all the way back to this Indo-European root here.

According to Etymonline, the root is origin of

  • pledge (“fixing yourself to a promise”)
  • indulge (“engage oneself to”)
  • play (“keep oneself busy, fixated”)
0 0 votes
Article Rating

Questions and Comments

🗨
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments


Never miss out!

Join over 20.000 German learners and get my epic newsletter whenever I post a new article :)

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

YDG German Newsletter

I don't spam! Read my privacy policy for more info.