Heiermann
The termHeiermannwas used colloquially in some areas of Germany for the 5Markpiece, nowadays also rarely for the5 Euro banknote.The word probably originated at the beginning of the 20th century in theNorth Germanlanguage area, but according toanecdotalinformation it spread at least as far as theRhineland.[1]
Occasionally (inKrefeld) the 50Pfennigpiece is said to have been described as aHeiermännchen( "littleHeiermann").[1]
Origin of the term
[edit]There are several theories about the origin of the term. Theetymologicallymost likely theory says that the term came from theHebrew lettersה ( "He", inYiddishpronunciation "hey" ). In theHebrew,each letter has also stood for a number since biblical times, with the ה ( "He" ) as the fifth letter of the alphabet standing for "five".
Other common derivations have a nautical connexion. One relates to the nautical term,Heuer:Around 1900, fiveGoldmarkswas a common amount that seafarers received asearnings.According to another theory – based on rumours from thered light districtofHamburg– in the early 1950s, the DM had such high purchasing power that seafarers on theHamburg Reeperbahncould pay five Marks to go abrothel.Sinceheiameans "sleep" in somedialects,the five Mark piece was called theHeiermann(Heiamann); however, the fact that the expression was already in use at the beginning of the 20th century does not fit in with this.
Attempts at explanations that seek to derive the name from the formerFederal PresidentGustav Heinemannareimplausible,since he was never depicted on a coin and also the term was common long before Heinemann took office (1969).
References
[edit]- ^abPeter Honnen, Martin Schott (Krefeld), Harald Einig (Ochtendeung) (May 2007 at the latest): Heiermann.Archived2012-05-12 at theWayback MachineRheinisches MitmachWörterbuch(accessed 25 July 2010)
Literature
[edit]- Max Goldt:"Der schwarze Wanderbuhpokal" inMind boggling' - Evening Post,Zurich 1998, pp. 142–144.
- Friedrich Kluge:Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache[ "Etymological Dictionary of the German Language" ]. 24th edition. de Gruyter, Berlin 2002, entry:Heiermann.ISBN 3-11-017473-1.
- Thorsten Weiland:Das Hundeshagener Kochum. Ein Rotwelsch-Dialekt von Wandermusikanten aus dem Eichsfeld. Quellen – Wörterbuch – Analyse.Schöningh, Paderborn 2003, ISBN 3-506-79706-9. The book contains at p. 149 ff an article onHeiermann,in which the use of the word in the Kochum and its etymology in general is treated.
External links
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