Etymograph

English

Magdeburg

Magdeburg comes from German Magdeburg, and goes back to Middle Low German Māgedeborch.

  1. Middle Low Germanc. 1200–1600Māgedeborch
  2. Germanc. 1650–presentMagdeburg
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1759same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Middle Low Germanc. 1200–1600Māgedeborch
  2. Germanc. 1650–presentMagdeburg
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1759same form

Earliest quotation: 1759, George Sale et al., The Modern Part of an Universal History: “Since the reign of Charlemagne, this country is divided…”

The story

Since the Middle Ages interpreted as “maiden-borough”, sometimes specifically related to the Virgin Mary. However, the first component may originally have been the plant name “mayweed”, compare Middle Low German mēgede(blōme) and Old English mæġþe.

Every English word from Middle Low German Māgedeborch

Today it means

name The capital city of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, on the River Elbe.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Middle Low German Māgedeborch / Magdeburg

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