baby

Forms

baby m (plural baby's, diminutive baby'tje n)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from English baby (“infant, small child”).^[2][1][3][4] The English word is a pet form of babe, probably shortened from Middle English baban, a babbling word of the same kind as ⟨baba⟩, ⟨dada⟩, mama and papa; the forms in /i/ are diminutives used as names of endearment.^[2][3] The Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal notes that French also took the English word, and German in the 1840s.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest Dutch record found so far is from a Curaçao newspaper of 1852, where de “babies” are mentioned in quotation marks as a foreign word; a newspaper of 1869 already writes mijnheer de baby.^[2] The EWN's own first date is 1875, from the supplement of the Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal, while Van Veen and Van der Sijs date the word to the first quarter of the 20th century.^[2][6][3]

Semantic evolution

The Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal defines a baby as a child from birth until it can walk and talk, when it becomes a peuter “toddler”; a dictionary of 1914 also gives baby for a loose child's dress and an apron with sleeves, uses for which no further evidence was found.^[5] Posthumus finds the word in Koenen's dictionary of 1940 and lists compounds such as babyfoon “baby monitor” and babyvoeding “baby food”.^[7] The ANW also uses it for the young of an animal and for an unborn child.^[8]

From English came the compounds babysitter (1948), formed in American English in 1937, and the verb babysitten (1948), as well as babyboomer (1987), from the post-war baby boom.^[2] As a first element baby- can also mean “small”.^[4][9] Indonesian bébi “infant” may come from Dutch or from English.^[10]

Timeline

• 1852 – Babies appears in a Curaçao newspaper.^[2]
• 1869 – A Zwolle newspaper writes mijnheer de baby.^[2]
• 1875 – The word is recorded in the supplement of the Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal.^[2][6]
• 1914 – A dictionary also gives it as the name of a child's dress.^[5]
• 1948 – Baby-sitter and baby-sitten appear in a Leiden newspaper.^[2]
• 1987 – Babyboomer is first recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A baby, an infant from birth to about one year old: De baby slaapt eindelijk.^[11][8][1]
2. The young of an animal.^[8]
3. An unborn child, a foetus.^[8]

Word family

• babykleding
• babyvoedsel
• babysitter
• babysitten
• babyboomer
• babyfoon

Related words

• English baby

Usage notes

The plural is baby's, with an apostrophe, and the diminutive baby'tje; older texts also have the English plural babies.^[1][5]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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
3. ^ a b c Veen, P. A. F. van; Sijs, Nicoline van der (1997), Etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van onze woorden, 2nd ed., Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Lexicografie
4. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2005), Groot leenwoordenboek, Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale
5. ^ a b c d 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
6. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
7. ^ Posthumus, J. (1986), A Description of a Corpus of Anglicisms, Groningen: Anglistisch Instituut
8. ^ a b c d Algemeen Nederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; anw.ivdnt.org
9. ^ WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org
10. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
11. ^ Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers