Das Lexem „Austage“ im Siebenbürgisch-Sächsischen; damit belegte nordsiebenbürgische Wortbildungskonstruktionen

Abstract The lexem „Austage“ is a word that is attested in Transylvanian Saxon in the sense of t h e l a s t days of winter and the first days of the be -ginning of spring, also as an older term for s p r i n g in general, which covers the period from about 21 March to 21 June. In the article, the dates for the above-described period „Austage“ are initially given as dates in legal documents from the 16th to and including the 18th century, followed by selected vernacular examples. Subsequently, based on certain peasant expressions as well as peasant rules and proverbs, the most important agricultural work is discussed, which is carried out by the farmer in those „Austage“ days awaited with longing and impatience. Furthermore, northern Transylvanian word formation constructions using with the lexem „Austage“ are analysed stating their meanings and their word formation process, whereby reference is made to corresponding specialist literature on word formation in contemporary German . The vernacular examples documented in the article are taken from the Transylvanian-Saxon Dictionary , the North Transylvanian Dictionary and Transylvanian-Saxon specialist and vernacular literature .