Word Of The Day ~ von
WORT DES TAGES
von (dative prep.) - from, of, by
Er arbeitet von 8 bis 17 Uhr. - He works from 8am until 5pm.
Dieser Roman ist von John Updike. - This novel is by John Updike.
Von wegen! - As if!
Von mir aus. - I don't mind./For all I care.
Von mir aus gerne! - I'm up for it!/With pleasure!/That's fine by me.
Related:
von dort an/von nun an - henceforward
frei von [sein] - [to be] free of, exempt from, unfettered by
vom = von dem - from, of
MORE> Dative Prepositions in German
http://german.about.com/library/blcase_dat2.htm
On a cultural note...
In German surnames such as "von Buch" or "von der Leyen", von literally means "from" or "of". It's the German equivalent of de/du in French and traditionally was used by the nobility.
At certain times and places, it was illegal for anyone who wasn't a member of the nobility to use von before their family name. However, in the Middle Ages the "von" particle was still a common part of names and was widely used by commoners as well -- e.g. Hans von Duisburg just meant Hans from [the city of] Duisburg. (The Dutch "Van", which is a cognate of "Von" but does not indicate nobility, can be said to have preserved this earlier meaning).
The abolition of the monarchies in Germany and Austria in 1919 meant that neither state had a privileged nobility, and both had exclusively republican governments. In Germany, this meant that in principle von simply became an ordinary part of the name of the person who used it. There were no longer any legal privileges or constraints associated with this naming convention, although in practice, many people with von in their names are still listed in telephone books and other files under the rest of their name. (e.g. Ludwig von Mises would be under M in the phone book rather than V).
In short, not all members of families whose names begin with "von" are holders of a title of some kind - while it can be said that almost all German nobles use von, not all users of von are noble. Many individuals of no titled descent, particularly in America, nonetheless choose to add the particle to their name...
Some very old noble families, usually members of the Uradel, do not use von but are still noble.
A few German families were elevated to the nobility without the use of the preposition von. This was the case of the Riedesel Freiherren zu Eisenbach who received their baronial dignity in 1680. Ancient families distinguish themselves from newly ennobled ones by abbreviating von to v. This is also the traditional practice of nobles in North Germany.
People such as Lars von Trier, Diane von Fürstenberg, Erich von Stroheim, Josef von Sternberg, Dita Von Teese and Denise van Outen added the von/van to their name by their own choice.
von (dative prep.) - from, of, by
Er arbeitet von 8 bis 17 Uhr. - He works from 8am until 5pm.
Dieser Roman ist von John Updike. - This novel is by John Updike.
Von wegen! - As if!
Von mir aus. - I don't mind./For all I care.
Von mir aus gerne! - I'm up for it!/With pleasure!/That's fine by me.
Related:
von dort an/von nun an - henceforward
frei von [sein] - [to be] free of, exempt from, unfettered by
vom = von dem - from, of
MORE> Dative Prepositions in German
http://german.about.com/library/blcase_dat2.htm
On a cultural note...
In German surnames such as "von Buch" or "von der Leyen", von literally means "from" or "of". It's the German equivalent of de/du in French and traditionally was used by the nobility.
At certain times and places, it was illegal for anyone who wasn't a member of the nobility to use von before their family name. However, in the Middle Ages the "von" particle was still a common part of names and was widely used by commoners as well -- e.g. Hans von Duisburg just meant Hans from [the city of] Duisburg. (The Dutch "Van", which is a cognate of "Von" but does not indicate nobility, can be said to have preserved this earlier meaning).
The abolition of the monarchies in Germany and Austria in 1919 meant that neither state had a privileged nobility, and both had exclusively republican governments. In Germany, this meant that in principle von simply became an ordinary part of the name of the person who used it. There were no longer any legal privileges or constraints associated with this naming convention, although in practice, many people with von in their names are still listed in telephone books and other files under the rest of their name. (e.g. Ludwig von Mises would be under M in the phone book rather than V).
In short, not all members of families whose names begin with "von" are holders of a title of some kind - while it can be said that almost all German nobles use von, not all users of von are noble. Many individuals of no titled descent, particularly in America, nonetheless choose to add the particle to their name...
Some very old noble families, usually members of the Uradel, do not use von but are still noble.
A few German families were elevated to the nobility without the use of the preposition von. This was the case of the Riedesel Freiherren zu Eisenbach who received their baronial dignity in 1680. Ancient families distinguish themselves from newly ennobled ones by abbreviating von to v. This is also the traditional practice of nobles in North Germany.
People such as Lars von Trier, Diane von Fürstenberg, Erich von Stroheim, Josef von Sternberg, Dita Von Teese and Denise van Outen added the von/van to their name by their own choice.