hervor

Hervor is a German term primarily encountered as a separable prefix hervor- attached to verbs to indicate that an action is directed outward, toward the foreground, or that something is brought into view or prominence. It occurs in many common compound verbs such as hervorkommen (to come forth, appear), hervortreten (to step forward, emerge), hervorgehen (to emerge, originate), and hervorheben (to emphasize, highlight).

In usage, the prefix is typically separated in present-tense clauses: Der Forscher hebt das Phänomen hervor. In perfect tense the prefix is part of the past participle: Der Forscher hat das Phänomen hervorgehoben. The exact meaning of hervor depends on the base verb, but it generally conveys bringing something out of obscurity, making it visible, or moving it forward in some sense.

Etymologically, hervor- derives from a combination of her- and vor, components that together express motion toward or outward from a source. It has been a productive part of German verb formation for many centuries and is treated as a morphological prefix rather than an independent word.

Hervor can also appear in noun form in older or literary contexts to denote emergence or appearance, though this usage is rare in contemporary prose. More common related nouns are Hervorbringung (bringing forth) and Hervorhebung (emphasis).

See also: German prefixes, separable verb prefixes, German morphology.