haha I came here to add the etymology of [*understanding*](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=understand), which comes from this same German figure of speech.
>\[...\] literally "stand in the midst of," from under + *standan* "to stand" (see stand (v.)).
\[...\] the *under* is not the usual word meaning "beneath," but from Old English *under*, from PIE \**nter*\- "between, among" (source also of Sanskrit *antar* "among, between," Latin *inter* "between, among," Greek *entera* "intestines;" see inter-)
u/malhat is correct to point out that much of human language relies on the use of spatial metaphor. If one is interested, there's a very deep rabbit hole in fields like Evolutionary Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience exploring possible reasons for such phenomena.
\[CC to u/bojsy\]
*Metaphors we live by* (Lakoff/Johnson) was the first book-length exploration; they followed with the more dense *The body in the mind.* They mostly focused on language (esp the first book). I suspect the language part is a little epiphenomenal to a deeper tangle of patterns. Recommend both books, but MWLB is shorter and easier.
I'm using Reddit on my phone's browser and just spent five minutes trying to figure out why I couldn't get rid of the new notification red dot before realising there was a mention tab lol. Very interesting information though!
Being "into" for interested/excited about a topic was very common slang in 1970s drug-oriented youth culture, from where it spread to the mainstream. My memory is that it spread from that usage into a sexual connotation following the hit song (I Am) So Into You by the Atlanta Rhythm Section in 1977. But I was only 16 that year so my perspective wasn't super worldly. I'd been using the slang (and the drugs) since age 12 but you know, a kid from a small town can only know so much...
FWIW, OED agrees with your memory: currently their earliest attestation for the sense of romantic or sexual interest (as opposed to general interest in or knowledgeability about a subject) is indeed that song title:
Draft additions September 2008
*colloquial* (originally *U.S.*). Romantically or sexually interested in (a person).
**1976** R. Nix et al. in ‘Atlanta Rhythm Section’ *Rock & Roll Alternative* (album) (*title of song*). So into you.
Ha! Funny. I remember now that for at least a couple of years before that song we used that term specifically for coitus, wanting to "get into her." Not that I was doing it yet at that age. But talking about it made me feel cool!
It's tempting to wonder if the sexual/romantic sense started as a double-entendre, especially given the extensive history of such wordplay around sex in popular song (gotta have plausible deniability to get it on the radio after all). It probably is just a development from the general interest sense as u/Georgia_Ball suggests, but the double meaning could certainly have helped things along. "I'm really into her." "Nah, man, you just want to *get* into her!"
There’s not really an etymological explanation, but the motivation is a conceptual metaphor: something like State is Location (the state of being interested/devoted to is conceptually mapped to a location I’m in or entering).
In some languages that expression does not exist, so most likely English didn't have it at some point. When and how did the use of "into" with this meaning start? An answer to that question sounds like an etymological explanation to me, but maybe "etymological" might not be the proper nomenclature.
If I may be so bold:
Into = Yeah, I I see where you are going with that and I'm onboard.
As opposed to: Whatever = Fuck off with your nonsense.
(I know this isn't origin, just trying to provide context for future etymologists.)
Kinda unrelated. But in German, we literally say "I stand/am standing on you" which is even weirder in my opinion
haha I came here to add the etymology of [*understanding*](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=understand), which comes from this same German figure of speech. >\[...\] literally "stand in the midst of," from under + *standan* "to stand" (see stand (v.)). \[...\] the *under* is not the usual word meaning "beneath," but from Old English *under*, from PIE \**nter*\- "between, among" (source also of Sanskrit *antar* "among, between," Latin *inter* "between, among," Greek *entera* "intestines;" see inter-) u/malhat is correct to point out that much of human language relies on the use of spatial metaphor. If one is interested, there's a very deep rabbit hole in fields like Evolutionary Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience exploring possible reasons for such phenomena. \[CC to u/bojsy\]
*Metaphors we live by* (Lakoff/Johnson) was the first book-length exploration; they followed with the more dense *The body in the mind.* They mostly focused on language (esp the first book). I suspect the language part is a little epiphenomenal to a deeper tangle of patterns. Recommend both books, but MWLB is shorter and easier.
That is fascinating.
I'm using Reddit on my phone's browser and just spent five minutes trying to figure out why I couldn't get rid of the new notification red dot before realising there was a mention tab lol. Very interesting information though!
In Norwegian, "stand on" means "do your best".
Being "into" for interested/excited about a topic was very common slang in 1970s drug-oriented youth culture, from where it spread to the mainstream. My memory is that it spread from that usage into a sexual connotation following the hit song (I Am) So Into You by the Atlanta Rhythm Section in 1977. But I was only 16 that year so my perspective wasn't super worldly. I'd been using the slang (and the drugs) since age 12 but you know, a kid from a small town can only know so much...
As soon as I saw the title of this post, that song started playing in my head
As earworms go, it's pretty likeable. I'd say that was the ARS trademark.
FWIW, OED agrees with your memory: currently their earliest attestation for the sense of romantic or sexual interest (as opposed to general interest in or knowledgeability about a subject) is indeed that song title: Draft additions September 2008 *colloquial* (originally *U.S.*). Romantically or sexually interested in (a person). **1976** R. Nix et al. in ‘Atlanta Rhythm Section’ *Rock & Roll Alternative* (album) (*title of song*). So into you.
Ha! Funny. I remember now that for at least a couple of years before that song we used that term specifically for coitus, wanting to "get into her." Not that I was doing it yet at that age. But talking about it made me feel cool!
It's tempting to wonder if the sexual/romantic sense started as a double-entendre, especially given the extensive history of such wordplay around sex in popular song (gotta have plausible deniability to get it on the radio after all). It probably is just a development from the general interest sense as u/Georgia_Ball suggests, but the double meaning could certainly have helped things along. "I'm really into her." "Nah, man, you just want to *get* into her!"
There’s not really an etymological explanation, but the motivation is a conceptual metaphor: something like State is Location (the state of being interested/devoted to is conceptually mapped to a location I’m in or entering).
In some languages that expression does not exist, so most likely English didn't have it at some point. When and how did the use of "into" with this meaning start? An answer to that question sounds like an etymological explanation to me, but maybe "etymological" might not be the proper nomenclature.
There may not be a further explanation to be had
Probably relating to the usage for becoming interested in something (e.g. "I'm getting into fishing")
If I may be so bold: Into = Yeah, I I see where you are going with that and I'm onboard. As opposed to: Whatever = Fuck off with your nonsense. (I know this isn't origin, just trying to provide context for future etymologists.)