Etymologically
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betekenen

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Pronunciation

  • /bəˈteːkənə(n)/[1]

Forms

betekenen[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch betekenen, inherited from Old Dutch bitēkanen, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *bitaiknijan, formed with be- on a verb of the same meaning that survives as tekenen.[2][3][1][4] That verb, Proto-Germanic *taiknian-, also gave Old English tācnian (“to signify”), and was formed on the noun Proto-Germanic *taikna- (“sign”) (see teken).[2][1] The same prefixed verb is found in Old Saxon bitēkniandelīk (“symbolic”), Old High German bizeihhenen (“to indicate”) (modern German bezeichnen), Old Frisian bitēknia (“to indicate, mean”) and Middle English bitacnien (modern English betoken); modern West Frisian betekenje is probably taken from Dutch.[2][4]

The Old Dutch form ⟨beceignedo⟩ is to be read ⟨beteigneda⟩, unless the ⟨c⟩ is a German spelling for /ts/.[2] The Middle Dutch spelling ⟨beteikenen⟩ is only a variant.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Wachtendonck Psalms of the 10th century gloss Latin signata “the things signified” as beceignedo, and becehnot renders signatum.[2][3] In Middle Dutch the verb is first found in 1265–1270 in the life of Saint Lutgart from Brabant, where a red colour beteekent dat ic vele saken dor godes willen ondernam, “means that I undertook many things for God's sake”.[5][2]

Semantic evolution

In medieval texts the verb served above all for symbolic interpretation: in a text of 1270 from the Lower Rhine the peacock's tail full of eyes betekent that one should be watchful of what is to come.[5] Later Middle Dutch also used it for “to notify someone” (1460), “to interpret” a dream (1477), “to record” (1408), “to fix” a time or place, and “to mark with a sign” (1477).[6][2]

The sense “to mark with a sign” lasted into the 17th century and is now obsolete.[7] With a word as subject the verb means “to have as its meaning”, as in a quotation of 1681 explaining an East Indies word.[7] By the late 18th century it also meant “to be worth, to matter” (in Holland betekenden zij niet veel, 1782), and later “to imply, to lead to”.[7][8] The notifying sense lives on in law, where a bailiff betekent a writ.[8][6] Writers sometimes used betekenend for “important” after German bedeutend, a use the Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal calls a Germanism.[7]

The verb was taken into Danish (Danish betegne), Norwegian and Swedish (Swedish beteckna) from Dutch or Low German, and survives in Afrikaans beteken.[9][1]

Timeline

  • 901–1000 – Old Dutch beceignedo and becehnot in the Wachtendonck Psalms.[2][3]
  • 1240 – The derivative betekenisse “meaning”.[2]
  • 1265–1270 – Middle Dutch betekenen “to denote, symbolise”.[2][5]
  • 1460 – “To notify”.[6]
  • 1681 – A word betekent something.[7]
  • 1782 – “To be worth, to matter”.[7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To mean, to signify, to stand for: wat betekent dit teken?[8][1][10]
  2. To be worth, to matter, to count for something: wat kan ik voor je betekenen?, what can I do for you?[8][10]
  3. To lead to, to result in, to entail.[8][10]
  4. (law) To serve, to notify officially.[8][6]

Word family

  • betekenis
  • betekening
  • onbetekenend
  • veelbetekenend

Usage notes

Dat betekent niet veel goeds says that something bodes ill, het heeft niets te betekenen plays down a symptom or a small injury, and wat heeft dit te betekenen? is an angry question to someone caught in the act.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
  4. ^ a b Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  5. ^ a b c 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
  6. ^ a b c d Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  9. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  10. ^ a b c WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org