The unique German dictionary by the Brothers Grimm took 178 years to compile
If you are studying German, then you will definitely need the most German dictionary of all. Deutsche Welle tells about this unique reference work, which made it into the Guinness Book of Records.
The first letter in the dictionary was the "most important," as Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm called it – the letter "A." Each entry was accompanied by a definition and a detailed historical note – the authors put in a lot of effort. Next came the entry "AA" – this is a fairly common name for rivers in Germany and appears repeatedly. The following entry was "aa!" or "aa machen," which means nothing other than "to relieve oneself." After this expression came "Aal" – eel, "aalglatt" – slippery as an eel.
How it all began
In March 1838, philologist Moritz Haupt and publisher Karl Reimer convinced the Brothers Grimm to take on the work of a large German dictionary. The ambitious project was launched, and the Brothers Grimm began work in Kassel. They set themselves the goal of explaining the origin and usage of every word in the German language – from Luther to Goethe, and with thoroughness and meticulousness!
Due to a series of circumstances, the Brothers Grimm had free time at that point. The University of Göttingen had dismissed the professors of philology, among them Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, because they dared in 1837 to protest against the repeal of the constitution of the Kingdom of Hanover. There were seven of them in total: therefore, this group of like-minded people became known as the Göttingen Seven.
While the Brothers Grimm were at loose ends, they convinced publisher Salomon Hirzel from Leipzig to release a new large German dictionary. Hirzel agreed. In 1838, the Brothers Grimm began work. A titanic labor that the scholars were never able to finish.
This project also had a political purpose. The compilers of the dictionary pursued the idea of national unity, and writing, in their opinion, was what should unite the fragmented lands. At the same time, the diversity of dialects was important to preserve, the Brothers Grimm believed. Other scholars soon joined the ambitious project. More than 80 people worked on the common cause. The team of linguists collected half a million historical notes.
At a congress of linguists held on the occasion of the Day of Germanists in 1846, Wilhelm and Jacob asked their colleagues to be a little more patient. The dictionary was not yet ready: "A work of this kind requires long and painstaking labor, the completion of which cannot be forced."
In 1854, the first volume of the "Brothers Grimm Dictionary" was published, but five years later Wilhelm Grimm died, who by that time had managed to collect all the entries for the letter "D." His brother had worked through the letters "A," "B," "C," and "E," but he died in 1863, just as he was working on the word "Frucht," which means not only "fruit" but also "result."
What became of the dictionary
The final result after the publication of the first volume had to wait another 107 years. The community of Germanists from different generations took up the work of the Brothers Grimm. From the time of Bismarck, work on the dictionary was transferred to the Prussian Academy of Sciences. During the Cold War, Germanists in both West and East Germany worked on the dictionary.
And then, on January 4, 1961, the last volume of the dictionary saw the light of day, where the last word under the letter "Z" was "Zypressenzweig" – cypress branch. By that time, the first three volumes of the Brothers Grimm had already become outdated and had to be completely reworked.
The work was completed by 2016. 178 years after the start, a bold period was placed on the Brothers Grimm project. Today, the dictionary weighs 84 kg. However, it is only available in digital format. Free access is provided, for example, by the University of Trier.
The Brothers Grimm laid the foundation for a monumental work that, many years later, made it into the Guinness Book of Records. In 32 volumes, more than 300,000 definitions were collected. And yet, when the Brothers Grimm first began work on the dictionary, they estimated it would be six to seven volumes, and the time of work was limited to ten years. The dictionary alone contains more than four thousand references, which were published as a separate and final 33rd volume!