berg

Forms

berg m (plural bergen, diminutive bergje n)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch berch, inherited from Old Dutch berg, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *berg, inherited from Proto-Germanic *berga- (“mountain, hill”).^[2][1][3] The same word is Old Saxon berg, Old High German berg (modern German Berg), Old Frisian berch (also birg), West Frisian berch, Old English beorg (surviving as English barrow “burial mound”) and Old Norse bjarg (“rock, mountain”); and, only as a derivative, Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌲𐌰𐌷𐌴𐌹 (bairgahei, “mountainous region”), from an unattested adjective meaning “mountainous”.^[2][4][3]

It goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (“to rise”).^[2][1] Outside Germanic, the related words include Old Irish brí (“hill”) with the Gaulish tribal name ⟨Brigantes⟩ “the high ones”, Avestan bərəzah- (“height, mountain”) and Hittite parku- (“high”).^[2][5] The Slavic word for “bank”, as in Czech břeh, has a velar consonant where the other languages point to a palatal one;^[4][6][5] Franck–Van Wijk therefore took it as a loan from Germanic, while Van Haeringen and others assume variation within the root.^[4][6][5] burcht stands in ablaut with the word.^[7][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word appears first in Old Dutch place names: Cranaberga “Kraanberg” near Ghent, in a record of 814–820 known from a copy of 941, and Berega, Berg near Ghent, in 856.^[2][8] As a common noun it occurs in the Wachtendonck Psalms of the 10th century, meaning “mountain”, often of Mount Zion.^[2][8] The oldest Middle Dutch record in the VMNW is from Ghent in 1210, and Limburg glosses of 1240 give cleneberg for Latin monticulus “little hill”.^[9]

Semantic evolution

In Middle Dutch the plural could mean a mountain range, and pairs of berch and dal “valley” formed phrases: van berge te dale “downhill”, berch ende dale “everywhere”.^[9][10] Today's over berg en dal means “from everywhere”.^[11]

Several phrases came from the Bible and classical writers.^[12][13] Moving mountains stands for what faith can do, and de berg heeft een muis gebaard, “the mountain has given birth to a mouse”, follows Horace; the WNT quotes a 1632 version.^[12][13] Iemand gouden bergen beloven “to promise someone mountains of gold” renders the Latin of Terence and dates from the 16th century.^[13][14]

The figurative sense “large amount” is found in 1727, in bergen van angstvallige gedachten “mountains of anxious thoughts”; the concrete “heap, pile” probably followed, as in berg kousen “heap of stockings” (1861).^[2] Dutch passed the word to Afrikaans and through it to South African English berg, and to Negerhollands berg and bergi, Berbice Dutch berki and Sranan Tongo bergi “hill”.^[15][1] Etymonline records the English word berg, short for iceberg, from 1819.^[16]

Timeline

• 814–820 – The place name Cranaberga near Ghent is recorded, in a copy of 941.^[2][8]
• 856 – Berega (Berg, near Ghent) is recorded.^[2][8]
• 901–1000 – Berg “mountain” appears in the Wachtendonck Psalms.^[2][8]
• 1210 – The oldest Middle Dutch record in the VMNW, from Ghent.^[9]
• 1240 – Limburg glosses render Latin monticulus and promontorium.^[9]
• 1632 – Het baren van bergen komt uit op een muis is recorded.^[12]
• 1727 – Bergen van angstvallige gedachten shows the sense “large amount”.^[2]
• 1819 – English berg, short for iceberg, is recorded.^[16]
• 1874 – Onder eenen berg papieren “under a heap of papers”.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A mountain: a high rise of the land that stands out from its surroundings, usually higher and steeper than a hill.^[11][17][1]
2. Mountainous country.^[17]
3. A hill in a flat or gently rolling landscape.^[17][1]
4. A large amount, a heap or pile: een berg wasgoed “a pile of laundry”.^[11][17][1]

Word family

• gebergte
• bergachtig
• bergaf
• bergop
• bergbeklimmer
• bergketen
• bergkristal
• bergpas
• bergrug
• bergtop
• bergeend
• ijsberg
• schuldenberg
• tafelberg
• Bergrede

Related words

• burcht
• German Berg
• English barrow

Usage notes

Several unrelated words are spelled berg.^[5] In hooiberg “hay barrack” the second part is Middle Dutch barch “storage place for hay”, formed from the verb bergen.^[5][4][12] Another berg (de or het) is seborrhoeic eczema on the scalp of babies, cradle cap.^[11] It is recorded from 1839, and its origin is unknown: it may belong to the mountain word or to the verb in its sense “to cover”, and the comparison with Yiddish parch “scurf, scabby head” fits the meaning but is hard to square with the sounds.^[2]

Iemand gouden bergen beloven means to make someone grand but empty promises.^[13][11]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c d Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
5. ^ a b c d e f Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
6. ^ a b Haeringen, C. B. van (1936), Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal: Supplement, 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
7. ^ Berkel, Gerald van; Samplonius, Kees (2018), Nederlandse plaatsnamen verklaard, Utrecht: Spectrum
8. ^ a b c d e Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
9. ^ a b c d 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
10. ^ Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
11. ^ a b c d e Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
12. ^ 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
13. ^ a b c d Stoett, F. A. (1923–1925), Nederlandsche spreekwoorden, spreekwijzen, uitdrukkingen en gezegden, 4th ed., 3 vols., Zutphen: Thieme
14. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2005), Groot leenwoordenboek, Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale
15. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
16. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
17. ^ a b c d Algemeen Nederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; anw.ivdnt.org