This is an incomplete list of
Dutch expressions used in
English; some are relatively common (e.g. cookie), some are comparatively rare. In a survey by
Joseph M. Williams in Origins of the English Language it is estimated that about 1% of English words are of Dutch origin.[1]
In many cases the
loanword has assumed a meaning substantially different from its Dutch forebear. Some English words have been borrowed directly from Dutch. But typically, English spellings of Dutch
loanwords suppress combinations of vowels of the original word which do not exist in English and replace them with existing vowel combinations respectively. For example, the oe in koekje or koekie becomes oo in cookie,[2] the ij (considered a vowel in Dutch) and the ui in vrijbuiter becomes ee and oo in freebooter, the aa in baas becomes o in boss, the oo in stoof becomes o in stove.
As languages, English and Dutch are both
West Germanic, and descend further back from the common ancestor language
Proto-Germanic. Their relationship however, has been obscured by the
lexical influence of
Old Norse as a consequence of
Viking expansion from the 9th till the 11th century, and
Norman French, as a consequence of the
Norman conquest of England in 1066. Because of their close common relationship - in addition to the large
Latin and
French vocabulary both languages possess - many English words are essentially identical to their Dutch lexical counterparts, either in spelling (plant, begin, fruit), pronunciation (pool = pole, boek = book, diep = deep), or both (offer, hard, lip) or as
false friends (ramp = disaster, roof = robbery, mop = joke). These
cognates or in other ways related words are excluded from this list.
Dutch expressions have been incorporated into English usage for many reasons and in different periods in time. These are some of the most common ones:
From Old Dutch
Many Latinate words in the English lexicon were borrowed from Latin. Quite a few of these words can further trace their origins back to a Germanic source - usually
Old Low Franconian. Old Dutch is the western variant of this language. In cases it is not clear whether the loanword is from Old Dutch (Old West Low Franconian) or another Germanic language, they have been excluded from the list. See also:
List of English Latinates of Germanic origin
Since speakers of West Germanic languages spoken along the North Sea coast from the 5th to the 9th century lived close enough together to form a linguistic
crossroads - water was the main way of transportation - Dutch and English share some traits that other West Germanic languages do not possess. Lexical examples are Dutch vijf / English five (compare German: Fünf) and Dutch leef / English live (compare German Leben). These words have been excluded from the list. See also:
Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law
Since the
Norman conquest of 1066 many Latinate words entered the English lexicon via French, which has – via
Old French – a substantial base of
Old Dutch (or
Old Low Franconian) and
Middle Dutch. For instance, French boulevard comes from Dutch bolwerk. In cases it is not clear whether the loanword in French is from Dutch or another Germanic language, they have been excluded from the list. See also:
Influence of Franconian language on French
For some loanwords stemming from this period it is not always clear whether they are of Old Dutch, Old Norse, another Germanic language or an unknown Old English origin. These words have been excluded from the list, or indicated as such.
From Middle Dutch
About one-third of the invading Norman army of 1066 came from Dutch speaking
Flemish. Many Flemings stayed in England after the Conquest and influenced the English language.
The main part of refugees to England, Wales and Scotland from the 11th till the 17th century were from the Low Countries; particularly Flemish skilled weavers and textile workers immigrated as a result of floods, overpopulation and warfare in
Flanders. In 1527, when England's population numbered 5 million, London alone had tens of thousands of Flemings,[3][4] while an estimated third of the Scottish population has a Flemish background.[5]
The
Hanseatic League had in the late Middle Ages a trade network along the coast of Northern Europe and England, using to Dutch related
Middle Low German as
lingua franca. Some loanwords from this period could come from either language. These words have been excluded from the list, or indicated as such.
From Modern Dutch
In the
Dutch Golden Age, spanning most of the 17th century, Dutch
trade,
science,
military, and
art were among the most acclaimed in the world, and many English words of Dutch origin concerning these areas are stemming from this period.
English and Dutch rivalry at sea resulted in many Dutch naval terms in English. See also: Dutch linguistic influence on naval terms
Via settlements in North America and elsewhere in the world Dutch language influenced English spoken there, particularly American English. That resulted also in numerous place names based on Dutch words and places. These are excluded from the list unless they are well known, like Brooklyn (from the Dutch town Breukelen) and Wall Street (from Dutch Walstraat). See also:
List of place names of Dutch origin
Due to contact between
Afrikaans and English speakers in
South Africa, many Dutch words entered English via Afrikaans, which has an estimated 90 to 95% vocabulary of Dutch origin. Only the words that entered standard English are listed here. Afrikaans words that do not stem from
Cape Dutch but from an African, Indian or other European language, are not listed here. See also:
List of English words of Afrikaans origin and
List of South African slang words
via French blasé, past participle of blaser (="to satiate"), perhaps from Dutch blazen (="to blow"), with a sense of "puffed up under the effects of drinking"[19]
Blaze (to make public, often in a bad sense, boastfully)
from Middle Dutch blasen (="to blow, on a trumpet)[20]
from 18th century Dutch cam (cog of a wheel", originally comb, cognate of English comb), nowadays kam, or from English camber (having a slight arch)[46]
possibly from 16th century Dutch de (the) + kooi (cage, used of a pond surrounded by nets, into which wildfowl were lured for capture).[60] Or from 16th century Dutch "eendekooi" (duck cage; a cage with an artificial duck to lure wild ducks); mistranslated as "een" dekooi; should have been read as "eend (duck)" -e- "kooi (cage)"-> a (article) dekooi -> (a) decoy[citation needed]
(="tax on goods") from Middle Dutch excijs, apparently altered from accijns (="tax"); English got the word, and the idea for the tax, from the Netherlands.[73]
from verloren hoop (literally "lost heap or group", figuratively "suicide mission," "
cannon fodder")[76] Forlorn also has identical cognates in German and the Scandinavian languages.
(="awkward or boorish man"), originally a sailor's contemptuous word (="raw recruit, green hand") for soldiers or marines, of uncertain origin; "Dictionary of American Slang" proposes galut, Sierra Leone creole form of Spanish galeoto (="galley slave"); perhaps rather Dutch slang kloot (="testicle"), klootzak (="scrotum"), used figuratively as an insult[82]
The pen-name was borrowed from
Washington Irving's friend
Herman Knickerbocker, and literally means "toy marble-baker." Also, descendants of Dutch settlers to New York, USA, are referred to as Knickerbockers and later became used in reference to a style of pants[114]
perhaps from early 16th century Dutch poes (still in use as poes / poesje) or Low German puus (pet name for cat), but probably much older than the record, because present in many Indo-European languages.[140]
from Middle Dutch Sinterklaas (="Saint Nicholas"), bishop of Minor Asia who became a patron saint for children. (Dutch and Belgian feast celebrated on the 5th and 6 December respectively) (
Origins of Santa Claus in US culture)[144]
from schaats. The noun was originally adopted as in Dutch, with 'skates' being the singular form of the noun; due to the similarity to regular English plurals this form was ultimately used as the plural while 'skate' was derived for use as singular."[149]
from Low German smukkelen and Dutch smokkelen (="to transport (goods) illegally"), apparently a frequentative formation of a word meaning "to sneak" [2]
The term is derived from the name of the town of
Spa, Belgium, whose name is known from
Roman times, when the location was called Aquae Spadanae,[166] sometimes incorrectly connected to the
Latin word spargere meaning to scatter, sprinkle or moisten.[167]
from Dutch stok (= "stick"). The Dutch word stok, pronounced similarly, was a wooden stick with carvings taken out of it and then split in half, one half was kept at the stock exchange and the other half was proof that the owner owned a certain amount of stock in something.
from Middle Dutch stove (="heated room"). The Dutch word stoof, pronounced similarly, is a small (often wooden) box with holes in it. One would place glowing coals inside so it would emanate heat, and then put one's feet on top of it while sitting (in a chair) to keep one's feet warm.[178]
from Jan Kees, a personal name, originally used mockingly to describe pro-French revolutionary citizens, with allusion to the small
keeshond dog, then for "colonials" in
New Amsterdam. This is not the only possible etymology for the word yankee, however; the Oxford English Dictionary has quotes with the term from as early as 1765, quite some time before the
French Revolution. Nowadays it commonly refers to Americans from the United States.[196]
Z
This section is empty. You can help by
adding to it. (April 2024)
^Williams, Joseph M. (18 April 1986). Amazon.com: Origins of the English Language (9780029344705): Joseph M. Williams: Books. Simon and Schuster.
ISBN0029344700.
^Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, George Rosen, Yale University Dept. of the History of Science and Medicine, Project Muse, H. Schuman, 1954
This is an incomplete list of
Dutch expressions used in
English; some are relatively common (e.g. cookie), some are comparatively rare. In a survey by
Joseph M. Williams in Origins of the English Language it is estimated that about 1% of English words are of Dutch origin.[1]
In many cases the
loanword has assumed a meaning substantially different from its Dutch forebear. Some English words have been borrowed directly from Dutch. But typically, English spellings of Dutch
loanwords suppress combinations of vowels of the original word which do not exist in English and replace them with existing vowel combinations respectively. For example, the oe in koekje or koekie becomes oo in cookie,[2] the ij (considered a vowel in Dutch) and the ui in vrijbuiter becomes ee and oo in freebooter, the aa in baas becomes o in boss, the oo in stoof becomes o in stove.
As languages, English and Dutch are both
West Germanic, and descend further back from the common ancestor language
Proto-Germanic. Their relationship however, has been obscured by the
lexical influence of
Old Norse as a consequence of
Viking expansion from the 9th till the 11th century, and
Norman French, as a consequence of the
Norman conquest of England in 1066. Because of their close common relationship - in addition to the large
Latin and
French vocabulary both languages possess - many English words are essentially identical to their Dutch lexical counterparts, either in spelling (plant, begin, fruit), pronunciation (pool = pole, boek = book, diep = deep), or both (offer, hard, lip) or as
false friends (ramp = disaster, roof = robbery, mop = joke). These
cognates or in other ways related words are excluded from this list.
Dutch expressions have been incorporated into English usage for many reasons and in different periods in time. These are some of the most common ones:
From Old Dutch
Many Latinate words in the English lexicon were borrowed from Latin. Quite a few of these words can further trace their origins back to a Germanic source - usually
Old Low Franconian. Old Dutch is the western variant of this language. In cases it is not clear whether the loanword is from Old Dutch (Old West Low Franconian) or another Germanic language, they have been excluded from the list. See also:
List of English Latinates of Germanic origin
Since speakers of West Germanic languages spoken along the North Sea coast from the 5th to the 9th century lived close enough together to form a linguistic
crossroads - water was the main way of transportation - Dutch and English share some traits that other West Germanic languages do not possess. Lexical examples are Dutch vijf / English five (compare German: Fünf) and Dutch leef / English live (compare German Leben). These words have been excluded from the list. See also:
Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law
Since the
Norman conquest of 1066 many Latinate words entered the English lexicon via French, which has – via
Old French – a substantial base of
Old Dutch (or
Old Low Franconian) and
Middle Dutch. For instance, French boulevard comes from Dutch bolwerk. In cases it is not clear whether the loanword in French is from Dutch or another Germanic language, they have been excluded from the list. See also:
Influence of Franconian language on French
For some loanwords stemming from this period it is not always clear whether they are of Old Dutch, Old Norse, another Germanic language or an unknown Old English origin. These words have been excluded from the list, or indicated as such.
From Middle Dutch
About one-third of the invading Norman army of 1066 came from Dutch speaking
Flemish. Many Flemings stayed in England after the Conquest and influenced the English language.
The main part of refugees to England, Wales and Scotland from the 11th till the 17th century were from the Low Countries; particularly Flemish skilled weavers and textile workers immigrated as a result of floods, overpopulation and warfare in
Flanders. In 1527, when England's population numbered 5 million, London alone had tens of thousands of Flemings,[3][4] while an estimated third of the Scottish population has a Flemish background.[5]
The
Hanseatic League had in the late Middle Ages a trade network along the coast of Northern Europe and England, using to Dutch related
Middle Low German as
lingua franca. Some loanwords from this period could come from either language. These words have been excluded from the list, or indicated as such.
From Modern Dutch
In the
Dutch Golden Age, spanning most of the 17th century, Dutch
trade,
science,
military, and
art were among the most acclaimed in the world, and many English words of Dutch origin concerning these areas are stemming from this period.
English and Dutch rivalry at sea resulted in many Dutch naval terms in English. See also: Dutch linguistic influence on naval terms
Via settlements in North America and elsewhere in the world Dutch language influenced English spoken there, particularly American English. That resulted also in numerous place names based on Dutch words and places. These are excluded from the list unless they are well known, like Brooklyn (from the Dutch town Breukelen) and Wall Street (from Dutch Walstraat). See also:
List of place names of Dutch origin
Due to contact between
Afrikaans and English speakers in
South Africa, many Dutch words entered English via Afrikaans, which has an estimated 90 to 95% vocabulary of Dutch origin. Only the words that entered standard English are listed here. Afrikaans words that do not stem from
Cape Dutch but from an African, Indian or other European language, are not listed here. See also:
List of English words of Afrikaans origin and
List of South African slang words
via French blasé, past participle of blaser (="to satiate"), perhaps from Dutch blazen (="to blow"), with a sense of "puffed up under the effects of drinking"[19]
Blaze (to make public, often in a bad sense, boastfully)
from Middle Dutch blasen (="to blow, on a trumpet)[20]
from 18th century Dutch cam (cog of a wheel", originally comb, cognate of English comb), nowadays kam, or from English camber (having a slight arch)[46]
possibly from 16th century Dutch de (the) + kooi (cage, used of a pond surrounded by nets, into which wildfowl were lured for capture).[60] Or from 16th century Dutch "eendekooi" (duck cage; a cage with an artificial duck to lure wild ducks); mistranslated as "een" dekooi; should have been read as "eend (duck)" -e- "kooi (cage)"-> a (article) dekooi -> (a) decoy[citation needed]
(="tax on goods") from Middle Dutch excijs, apparently altered from accijns (="tax"); English got the word, and the idea for the tax, from the Netherlands.[73]
from verloren hoop (literally "lost heap or group", figuratively "suicide mission," "
cannon fodder")[76] Forlorn also has identical cognates in German and the Scandinavian languages.
(="awkward or boorish man"), originally a sailor's contemptuous word (="raw recruit, green hand") for soldiers or marines, of uncertain origin; "Dictionary of American Slang" proposes galut, Sierra Leone creole form of Spanish galeoto (="galley slave"); perhaps rather Dutch slang kloot (="testicle"), klootzak (="scrotum"), used figuratively as an insult[82]
The pen-name was borrowed from
Washington Irving's friend
Herman Knickerbocker, and literally means "toy marble-baker." Also, descendants of Dutch settlers to New York, USA, are referred to as Knickerbockers and later became used in reference to a style of pants[114]
perhaps from early 16th century Dutch poes (still in use as poes / poesje) or Low German puus (pet name for cat), but probably much older than the record, because present in many Indo-European languages.[140]
from Middle Dutch Sinterklaas (="Saint Nicholas"), bishop of Minor Asia who became a patron saint for children. (Dutch and Belgian feast celebrated on the 5th and 6 December respectively) (
Origins of Santa Claus in US culture)[144]
from schaats. The noun was originally adopted as in Dutch, with 'skates' being the singular form of the noun; due to the similarity to regular English plurals this form was ultimately used as the plural while 'skate' was derived for use as singular."[149]
from Low German smukkelen and Dutch smokkelen (="to transport (goods) illegally"), apparently a frequentative formation of a word meaning "to sneak" [2]
The term is derived from the name of the town of
Spa, Belgium, whose name is known from
Roman times, when the location was called Aquae Spadanae,[166] sometimes incorrectly connected to the
Latin word spargere meaning to scatter, sprinkle or moisten.[167]
from Dutch stok (= "stick"). The Dutch word stok, pronounced similarly, was a wooden stick with carvings taken out of it and then split in half, one half was kept at the stock exchange and the other half was proof that the owner owned a certain amount of stock in something.
from Middle Dutch stove (="heated room"). The Dutch word stoof, pronounced similarly, is a small (often wooden) box with holes in it. One would place glowing coals inside so it would emanate heat, and then put one's feet on top of it while sitting (in a chair) to keep one's feet warm.[178]
from Jan Kees, a personal name, originally used mockingly to describe pro-French revolutionary citizens, with allusion to the small
keeshond dog, then for "colonials" in
New Amsterdam. This is not the only possible etymology for the word yankee, however; the Oxford English Dictionary has quotes with the term from as early as 1765, quite some time before the
French Revolution. Nowadays it commonly refers to Americans from the United States.[196]
Z
This section is empty. You can help by
adding to it. (April 2024)
^Williams, Joseph M. (18 April 1986). Amazon.com: Origins of the English Language (9780029344705): Joseph M. Williams: Books. Simon and Schuster.
ISBN0029344700.
^Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, George Rosen, Yale University Dept. of the History of Science and Medicine, Project Muse, H. Schuman, 1954