Okay, I was putting it off but i need to know, why does gift mean such opposite things in English and German?

Question

Also is there a word for a word that means completely different things in 2 different languages?
Answer both for 10 points!

Answer 1

Well it has the same root, I think.
German Gift (poison) come from old German "gift" meaning Gabe, Geschenk (=present) but in a negative sense. So it's basically the same word but meaning has changed. I believe in English the French word (poison) got used for it because it was more educated and poison was used by the (Norman)nobility rather than by the Anglo-Saxon subjects.

I have no idea if there is a word for a word that is written the same in two languages but has different meanings.

Answer 2

From the Old English "asgift," meaning, "payment for a wife" in the singular and meaning "wedding" in the plural. The Middle Dutch "gift," now written as "gif," meant the same, but today means "poison." The Old High German "gift" also became "poison." From the root "geb-", from which in English we get "give." There is another German word, however, which incorporates the word "gift", but which retains the older meaning of "payment for a wife". The word is "Mitgift", which is the modern German word for "dowry".

But that's not all! In Danish "gift" means "married" -- because when a girl marries she is given in marriage.

I can't answer the second half of your question, but for want of a better term I'll suggest "double verbal jeopardy", "two timing talk" or "slippery speech".

Answer 3

My theory is that poisons are administered--given, like medicine :-). "Gift" or "givd" of "gifd" might mean "[a thing/stuff] given" in the Germanic languages in the distant past. The meanings became more precise later in Anglo-Saxon and the continental Germanic languages that became German and Dutch.

"Gift" – das Gegebene – ist ein Euphemismus, eine Beschönigung, der hinter Gabe, Verabreichung, griechisch dósis, die niedrigen Motive verbirgt. Ein ähnlich verhüllender Ausdruck für Gift findet sich im Französischen und Englischen, poison, entstanden aus lateinisch potio, Trank.

"Gift" hat im Englischen die Bedeutung Geschenk, Gabe, sie geht unmittelbar aus dem Verb to give hervor.

Answer 4

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Answer 5

well...yes...in german gift means gift...but for the ten point thing... i doubt i allowed to use f word on this thing but in romanian what we think of as the f bomb only means "to do" so when i speak in romanian...cause i fluent...it sounds weird when people are around and i need to tell a relative that doesnt speak english that im gonna go do something or ill do it later

Answer 6

English gift = present
German gift = poison!

Answer 7

Poison could be a gift, you never know.

Answer 8

What a good question, I've wondered, too.

Answer 9

I just want some fresh squeezed OJ please