I have just encountered the word "Zweisamkeit". Till this moment I knew only "Einsamkeit" und "Gemeinsamkeit". Do you know any other words like this?
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Are you after Ein- vs. Zwei-, or is it the suffix -keit, or -samkeit you are interested in?– TakkatCommented Jul 20, 2013 at 17:22
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It's rather -keit/-samkeit, but the meaning is also important. All these words are somehow connected.– SpacemileCommented Jul 20, 2013 at 17:39
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@KseniaMurach motivated on your question, I asked this, which if solved, may be helpful here.– c.p.Commented Jul 20, 2013 at 18:35
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@c.p. thank you, that's an interesting question.– SpacemileCommented Jul 20, 2013 at 18:42
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de.wiktionary.org/wiki/Zweisamkeit– mvwCommented Jul 21, 2013 at 10:45
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3 Answers
I made a quick search in some word lists and found 133 words with ~samkeit.
There are many repetition because of compound words.
Achtsamkeit Alleinwirksamkeit Alltagswirksamkeit Anhaltsamkeit Anschmiegsamkeit Antigenwirksamkeit Arbeitsamkeit Artilleriewirksamkeit Aufmerksamkeit Außenwirksamkeit Außenwirkung/Außenwirksamkeit Bedachtsamkeit Bedeutsamkeit Behutsamkeit Beredsamkeit Bergeinsamkeit Beschäftigungswirksamkeit Betriebsamkeit Biegsamkeit Bildsamkeit Bildwirksamkeit Breitenwirksamkeit Buchgelehrsamkeit Büchergelehrsamkeit Bühnenwirksamkeit Datensparsamkeit Daueraufmerksamkeit Dreisamkeit Duldsamkeit Ehrsamkeit Eigenbedeutsamkeit Einfühlsamkeit Einprägsamkeit Einsamkeit Empfindsamkeit Energiegenügsamkeit Enthaltsamkeit Erfolgswirksamkeit Erholsamkeit Exportwirksamkeit Fachgelehrsamkeit Feldeinsamkeit Feuerwirksamkeit Finanzwirksamkeit Folgsamkeit Friedsamkeit Furchtsamkeit Fügsamkeit Gehorsamkeit Gelehrsamkeit Gemeinsamkeit Genügsamkeit Geruhsamkeit Geschichtswirksamkeit Gesetzesgelehrsamkeit Gewaltsamkeit Gottesgelehrsamkeit Grausamkeit Grundaufmerksamkeit Grundgemeinsamkeit Hauptaufmerksamkeit Heilsamkeit Höhenruderwirksamkeit Hörsamkeit Kanzelberedsamkeit Kleidsamkeit
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Thank you. That's really impressive. How did you manage to get that list? Commented Jul 20, 2013 at 22:48
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2Many of these words are rather unusual to put it politely - what source did you use to generate this list?– TakkatCommented Jul 21, 2013 at 8:08
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I linked the script for my search. I used wordlists from german.stackexchange.com/questions/491/… (The script contains the source links - I don't know if they are still valid.– knutCommented Jul 21, 2013 at 13:02
Double suffixation "-sam" and "-keit"
This admittedly peculiar construct results from a double suffixation. In the first place a noun was turned to an adjective by adding the suffix -sam, then it is turned back to a noun with another suffix "-keit".
Suffix "-sam"
This is a rather old suffix which is already present in Old High German, but also in Old English. It was and still is used to convert a noun to an adjective with the meaning of something being of the kind or nature of the noun it was added to. Later this suffix was also used to convert verbs to adjectives.
- gemeinsam
- langsam
- wirksam
Suffix "-keit/-heit"
The likewise old suffixes "-keit", and "-heit" are both used in the same meaning. Originally it was used for a shape, person, nature, standing but when added to an adjective this was thereby nominalized with the noun being something of the shape or nature of the adjective it was added to.
- Gesundheit
- Ewigkeit
- Wahrheit
When suffixing adjectives from above that were build by suffixing a noun with -sam we end with the resulting double suffixed noun from your examples (which then will have a different meaning from the rooting noun):
- Gemeinsamkeit
- Langsamkeit
- Wirksamkeit
It is not unusual to have constructs being build from several suffixes leading to such hard to decompose words like
- Wahrhaftigkeit
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1In this case numerals "ein" and "zwei" were converted to adjectives and after that to nouns. It's pretty much like construction set. Commented Jul 20, 2013 at 22:57
Unter dem Begriff „Zweisamkeit“ versteht man meist ein harmonisches, oft romantisches Zusammensein von zwei Personen, ohne störende andere Personen oder negative Einflüsse.
That means, “Zweisamkeit” is used to describe a harmonic, romantic partnership/situation of 2 people without negative influence of other people or any negative aspect.
Example:
Sandra und Oliver lebten bis zu ihrem Lebensende in harmonischer Zweisamkeit.
Sandra und Oliver verbrachten ihren Urlaub auf einer einsamen Insel in gemütlicher Zweisamkeit.
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The question was not about meaning. But anyway I appreciate your help. Thank you for the answer. Commented Jul 20, 2013 at 22:46
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Maybe this was not what @KseniaMurach was after, but I like your answer much more, because it focuses on the fact that "Zweisamkeit" is not a regular word like all the others in the list, but a pun playing on "Einsamkeit". (Even though you are citing without giving the source (de.wiktionary.org/wiki/Zweisamkeit)).– bouscherCommented Jul 20, 2013 at 23:16
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I see, in fact I have read the question more in view of the meaning between the words Einsamkeit, Zweisamkeit and Gemeinsamkeit.– user2238Commented Jul 21, 2013 at 19:03
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Is the first paragraph rather a quote, then please put it in quote blocks and add a link. Or is it your own statement, then please translate to English. An answer should be monolingual (except for examples and quotes) and, preferably, in the same language as the question was asked.– Em1Commented Jul 21, 2013 at 21:41
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@Em1 It wasn't a quote, it's my own statement but putted into the quote tag because people would write it like this. The question was not about the translation of Zweisamkeit (togetherness), but next time I will put a translation of my examples as well then.– user2238Commented Jul 21, 2013 at 21:46