avond

Forms

avond m (plural avonden, diminutive avondje n)^[1] The spelling avend and the form navond (from een avond) were also in use.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch âvont, inherited from Old Dutch āvont, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *ābanþ, inherited from Proto-Germanic *ēbanþs (“evening”).^[4][1][5] The same word is Old Saxon āband, Old High German āband (modern German Abend), Old Frisian āvend (modern West Frisian jûn) and Old English ǣfen (modern English eve), and with a short vowel and a dental after the ⟨f⟩ Old Norse aptann “the time between three and nine o'clock” (modern Swedish afton).^[4][6][7] Gothic has no such word and renders the concept as 𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽𐌰𐌷𐍄𐌹 (andanahti), literally “fore-night”.^[4]

The EWN finds that no single Proto-Germanic stem can be reconstructed: Old High German points to ⟨*ābanþ-⟩, the Dutch, Saxon and Frisian forms to ⟨*āband-⟩, and the Norse forms to ⟨*aftan-⟩.^[4] Kroonen, following Hamp, sets up a mobile stem Proto-Indo-European *h₁eh₁pt-ont-, with the loss of ⟨t⟩ between stops as in *sebun (“seven”).^[6][4] The first part may be the particle seen in Latin ob (“towards”), Ancient Greek ἐπί (epí, “on, at”) and ὀψέ (opsé, “late”), giving “the later part of the day”, but this is uncertain, and a recent theory takes the word as non-Indo-European.^[4][8][9] De Vries and De Tollenaere follow Johannisson, who saw a compound of a word for “after” and one for “labour”, “the time after the day's work”.^[10][7] The old idea that it means “the declining part of the day”, from af, is rejected because the Germanic peoples counted the evening as the start of the next day.^[2][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is first recorded in the Wachtendonck Psalms (10th century): an auont in an morgan in an mitdondage, “at evening and at morning and at noon”, and bekerda sulun uuerthun te auandi, “they shall return at evening”.^[5][4][12]

Semantic evolution

In Middle Dutch the word meant the part of the day from shortly before sunset until night, and also the eve of a church feast.^[13][4] This second sense reflects the old reckoning by which the day began with the preceding evening; it survives in Kerstavond “Christmas Eve”, oudejaarsavond “New Year's Eve” and Sinterklaasavond, as in German Sonnabend “Saturday” and English Halloween.^[4][2] The genitive des avonts, modern ’s avonds “in the evening”, was already common in the 13th century.^[13]

A text of 1637 has als het nu avont geworden was, and de avond viel “evening fell” is recorded in 1807.^[2] The figurative de avond van het leven, old age, and the sense “an evening gathering or party” are given by the modern dictionaries.^[14][15] The saying hoe later op de avond, hoe schoner volk, a welcome for late guests, dates from the 17th century and is shared with German.^[16] Dutch passed the word to Negerhollands (avond, navont) and Berbice Dutch (tafn), and Afrikaans has the contracted aand.^[17][1]

Timeline

• 901–1000 – Old Dutch auont appears in the Wachtendonck Psalms.^[5][12]
• 1220–1240 – Middle Dutch auunt is recorded in Aiol.^[4]
• c. 1240 – The Bernardus glossary has auont and auent for Latin vespera.^[4][13]
• 1260 – Dis auons “in the evening” is recorded in East Flanders.^[13]
• 1291 – Vigilien sauonds, vigils on the eve of an anniversary, appears in Ghent.^[13]
• 1637 – Als het nu avont geworden was “when evening had come”.^[2]
• 1807 – De avond (was) gevallen “evening had fallen”.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. evening, the part of the day between late afternoon and night, roughly from six o'clock until bedtime: We eten om zeven uur 's avonds.^[15][14][1]
2. The free time after the day's work, spent in a particular way: een rustig avondje thuis.^[14]
3. An evening gathering, performance or party: een bonte avond.^[15][14]
4. (figurative) de avond van het leven, old age.^[14]

Word family

• vanavond
• gisteravond
• morgenavond
• avondeten
• avondmaal
• avondrood
• kerstavond
• oudejaarsavond
• sinterklaasavond
• vastenavond
• avondlijk

Related words

• German Abend
• English eve

Usage notes

Men moet de dag niet prijzen voor het avond is, don't praise the day before evening, means that a work can be judged only when it is finished.^[15]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Vries, Matthias de; Winkel, L. A. te, et al. (1882–1998), Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal, 29 vols., 's-Gravenhage / Leiden: Nijhoff / Sijthoff / SDU; supplement 2001; gtb.ivdnt.org
3. ^ Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Philippa, Marlies; Debrabandere, Frans; Quak, Arend; Schoonheim, Tanneke; Sijs, Nicoline van der (2003–2009), Etymologisch woordenboek van het Nederlands, 4 vols., Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press; online via etymologiebank.nl
5. ^ a b c Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
6. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
7. ^ a b Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
8. ^ Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
9. ^ Veen, P. A. F. van; Sijs, Nicoline van der (1997), Etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van onze woorden, 2nd ed., Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Lexicografie
10. ^ Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 55
11. ^ Pluim, T. (1911), Keur van Nederlandsche woordafleidingen, Purmerend: Muusses
12. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
13. ^ a b c d e Pijnenburg, W. J. J., et al. (2001), Vroegmiddelnederlands woordenboek: woordenboek van het Nederlands van de dertiende eeuw in hoofdzaak op basis van het Corpus-Gysseling, Leiden: Instituut voor Nederlandse Lexicologie; gtb.ivdnt.org
14. ^ a b c d e Algemeen Nederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; anw.ivdnt.org
15. ^ a b c d Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
16. ^ Stoett, F. A. (1923–1925), Nederlandsche spreekwoorden, spreekwijzen, uitdrukkingen en gezegden, 4th ed., 3 vols., Zutphen: Thieme
17. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)