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beschaffen sein

(phrase)

Meanings

1.
to be constituted, made
(Technical sounding phrase used in context of describing how something is build or made (the state, not the process). )

Word Family tap to show/hide

The original idea of this root was:

splitting, cutting with sharp tool

On the English side, we have family members like shave, shape and scab and possibly also scoop, though the source I am using mentions two conflicting origins for scoop.

In German,the two most important relatives are schaffen and schöpfen. Schaffen probably comes from the angle of  giving shape, carving and evolved into the broader sense of creating and then also took on the idea of succeeding, completing a creation.
Schöpfen originally meant scooping liquids by using a carved out bowl, but very early on, due to sounding similar to schaffen, people started using it also in the sense of creating.

Besides those, also the verb schaben belongs to this family, which is about scraping, rasping over a surface.

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