Vom Quellentext über das Belegarchiv ins Autorenwörterbuch: der lexikografische Weg der Goethe-Belege

A comprehensive corpus of all extant textual witnesses of Goethe is the source and the origin of the Goethe-Wörterbuch (GWb). At the outset of the dictionary project stood the systematic excerpting of this corpus – a foundational phase in the lexicographic process that led, over several years, to the creation of an archive comprising approximately 3.4 million citation slips. These slips document every attested use of the approximately 93,000 lexical items employed by Goethe across a broad range of genres and text types: literary works, aesthetic and scientific treatises, diaries, letters, official documents, as well as notes, outlines, and documented conversations. These citation slips, together with a digital lexicographic workspace that offers access to a wide range of databases and digital corpora, form the basis for the preparation of dictionary entries. Each word article includes examples of the word use both as direct quotations and as references to textual sources. This article offers insight into the lexicographic workflows of the GWb and traces the lexical journey of Goethe citations from the source text through the archive into the author-based dictionary. Particular attention is given to the role of usage examples, as well as their selection and presentation within the dictionary entries. Through the digital version of the GWb, users can directly access the cited passages via integrated links to the Weimarer Ausgabe and other textual resources. This digital infrastructure enables a seamless return to the primary sources, thus closing the lexicographic circle.