ich
English
Etymology 1
From Middle English ich, from Old English iċ, iċċ (“I”, pronoun), from Proto-Germanic *ik, *ek (“I”, pronoun), from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂ (“I”). See also ch-, I.
Pronoun
ich
- (personal, obsolete) I.
- 1529, John Skelton, Elynour Rummyng:
- "Behold," she sayd, "and se How bright I am of ble! Ich am not cast away, That can my husband say, [...]"
- 1561, John Awdelay, The fraternitye of vacabondes:
- My maysters, ich am an old man, and halfe blinde, […]
- 1568, Thomas Howell, Arbor of Amitie:
- With cap and knee, ich will serve thee, what should ich more declare.
- 1604, William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure:
- Kissyng and lying ich see is all one:
And chave no mony, chul tell true therfore.
- Kissyng and lying ich see is all one:
- 1645, Thomas Davies, The Somersetshire Man's Complaint:
- Dost thinke 'chill labor to be poore, No no, ich haue a-doe..Ich will a plundering too.
- 1706, Edward Phillips, The New World of English Words:
- Ich, a Word us'd for I in the Western Parts of England.
- 1529, John Skelton, Elynour Rummyng:
Usage notes
Ich was the form of I found in the dialects of the West Country, West Midlands, and Kent. It began to disappear from written English with the onset of the Chancery Standard in the 15th century, yet continued to see limited use through the middle of the 19th century.
The Northern dialectal form, ik (which derives from the same Old English root), likewise disappeared from writing with the onset of the Chancery Standard in the 15th century.
Derived terms
See also
Etymology 2
Clipping of ichthyophthiriasis.
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɪk/
Noun
ich (uncountable)
- (ichthyology) Ichthyophthiriasis, a parasitic infection of freshwater fish caused by the ciliate Ichthyophthirius.
- 1996, Edward J. Noga, Fish Disease: Diagnosis and Treatment, Iowa State University Press (2000), →ISBN, page 95:
- Ich is one of the most common diseases of freshwater fish.
-
Derived terms
Alemannic German
Etymology
From Middle High German ich, from Old High German ih, from Proto-Germanic *ek, *ik. Cognate with German ich, Dutch ik, English I, Icelandic ég.
Declension
Central Franconian
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle High German ich, from Old High German ih, from Proto-Germanic *ek, *ik, from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂. The expected form is ech; the variant ich is from a form *īh with expressive lengthening (compare the corresponding diphthong in Moselle Franconian).
Pronunciation
Cimbrian
Etymology
From Middle High German ich, from Old High German ih, from Proto-Germanic *ek, *ik. Cognate with German ich, Dutch ik, English I, Icelandic ég.
Inflection
nominative | accusative | dative | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1st person singular | ich | mich | miar | |
2nd person singular | familiar | du | dich | diar |
polite | iart | ach | òich | |
3rd person singular | m | èar, ar | in, en | iime |
f | zi, ze | iar | ||
n | es, is | es, 's | iime | |
1st person plural | bar, bandare | zich | izandarn | |
2nd person plural | iart, artandare, iart-andare | òich, ach | ogandarn | |
3rd person plural | ze, zòi, zandare | zich | innandarn |
References
- “ich” in Martalar, Umberto Martello; Bellotto, Alfonso (1974) Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo
Crimean Gothic
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *ik, from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂.
German
Etymology
From Middle High German ich, from Old High German ih, from Proto-Germanic *ek, *ik, from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɪç/
(file) - (Austria)
(file)
Inflection
nominative | accusative | genitive | dative | possessive | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st person singular | ich | mich | meiner († mein) | mir | mein | |
2nd person singular (familiar)1 | du (-e) | dich | deiner († dein) | dir | dein | |
3rd person singular | m | er | ihn | seiner († sein) | ihm | sein |
f | sie | ihrer | ihr | |||
n | es | seiner († sein) | ihm | sein | ||
1st person plural | wir (mir) | uns | unser | uns | unser | |
2nd person plural (familiar)1 | ihr | euch | euer | euch | euer | |
3rd person plural | sie | ihrer | ihnen | ihr | ||
polite address | naturally: 2nd person sg. or pl.; grammatically: 2nd person pl. |
Ihr | Euch | Euer | Euch | Euer |
naturally: 2nd person sg. or pl.; grammatically: 3rd person pl. |
Sie | Ihrer | Ihnen | Ihr |
1Often capitalized, especially in letters
In contemporary German, the genitive forms of personal pronouns are restricted to formal style and are infrequent even here. They may be used
- for the genitive object still found in a handful of verbs: Er erbarmte sich meiner. – "He had mercy on me". (Colloquially one would either use the dative case, or a prepositional object, or replace the verb with another.)
- after the preposition statt ("instead of, in place of"): Er kam statt meiner in die Mannschaft. – "He joined the team in my place." This sounds antiquated, and an meiner Statt or an meiner Stelle is preferable (in which case meiner is not a genitive, but a form of the possessive determiner mein).
Derived terms
- Ich n
- lyrisches Ich n
Hunsrik
Etymology
From Middle High German ich, from Old High German ih, from Proto-Germanic *ek, *ik, from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /iç/
Inflection
nominative | accusative | dative | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Proclitic | Enclitic | str. | unstr. | str. | unstr. | |
1st person singular | ich | -ich | mich | meer | mer | |
2nd person singular (informal) |
du | -du, -de | dich | deer | der | |
3rd person singular (m) | er, där | -er | ihn | en | ihm | em |
3rd person singular (f) | sie, die | -se | sie / ihns | se | eer | re |
3rd person singular (n) | es, das | 's | es | ihm | em | |
1st person plural | meer | mer | uns | uns | ||
2nd person plural | deer | der | eich | eich | ||
3rd person plural | sie, die | -se | sie | se | denne |
Limburgish
Etymology
From Old High German ih, from Proto-Germanic *ek, *ik.
Middle English
Etymology
From Old English iċ (“I”, pronoun), from Proto-Germanic *ek (“I”, pronoun), from Proto-Indo-European *egom (“I”), *éǵh₂.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /itʃ/
Middle High German
Etymology
From Old High German ih, from Proto-Germanic *ek, *ik.
Declension
Descendants
References
- Schmutz, C., Haas, W. (2004) Senslerdeutsches Wörterbuch. Fribourg: Paulusverlag.
- Altenhofen, Cléo Vilson. (1996) Hunsrückisch in Rio Grande do Sul: Ein Beitrag zur Beschreibung einer deutschbrasilianischen Dialektvarietät im Kontakt mit dem Portugiesischen. Stuttgart: Steiner.
- "ich". In: Besse, Maria. (2004). Britter Wörterbuch. Losheim am See: Verein für Heimatkunde in der Gemeinde Losheim am See.
- Online-Wörterbuch der Akademie för uns kölsche Sproch, Stichwort »ich« (URL).
- Kelz, Heinrich P. (1971). Phonologische Analyse des Pennsylvaniadeutschen. Hamburg: Buske.
Pennsylvania German
Polish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ix/
Audio (file)
Yola
Etymology
From Middle English ich, from Old English iċ (“I”, pronoun), from Proto-Germanic *ek (“I”, pronoun), from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂ (“I”). Compare obsolete English ich.