broer

Forms

broer m (plural broers, diminutive broertje n)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch broer, a contracted form of broeder, inherited from Middle Dutch broeder, inherited from Old Dutch bruother, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *brōþer, inherited from Proto-Germanic *brōþer- (“brother”).^[2][1][3] The /d/ between vowels dropped out, as in weer and blij.^[1]

The same word is Gothic 𐌱𐍂𐍉𐌸𐌰𐍂 (broþar), Old Norse bróðir, Old English brōþor (modern English brother), Old Frisian brōther, Old Saxon brōthar and Old High German bruodar (modern German Bruder).^[2][3][4] It is one of the kinship terms common to the Indo-European languages, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr, and it is related to Latin frāter, Ancient Greek φράτηρ (phrā́tēr, “member of a brotherhood”), Sanskrit भ्रातृ (bhrā́tṛ), Lithuanian brólis, Old Church Slavonic братръ (bratrŭ) and Old Irish bráthair.^[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old Dutch bruothron, “to the brothers”, is in the Wachtendonck Psalms of the 10th century, and Middle Dutch broder “brother” in a charter of 1236.^[2][5] The contracted broer is first found in West Flemish Middle Dutch of 1300–1350.^[2]

Semantic evolution

For centuries broer was the spoken form and broeder the written one; at the end of the 19th century writers still mostly used broeder, and only in the 20th century did broer become the standard written form for a sibling.^[2] The fuller form kept the senses “monk, lay brother” and “male nurse”, because monks called one another by Latin frater and often worked as nurses.^[2]

The ANW extends broer to a close friend, an animal with the same parents, and a species, organisation or idea closely related to another.^[6] Dutch broer passed into Afrikaans, Berbice Dutch, Negerhollands and Skepi Dutch, and into the Malay of Ambon, Manado and Java as brur.^[7][1] In North Brabant the youngest son is often called Broer, which is also a first name.^[8]

Timeline

• 10th century – Old Dutch bruothron “brothers” in the Wachtendonck Psalms.^[2][5]
• 1236 – Middle Dutch broder “brother”.^[2]
• 1300–1350 – West Middle Dutch broer.^[2]
• 1410 – Broeder “member of a religious order”.^[5]
• 1899 – Broeder “male nurse”.^[5][2]
• 20th century – Broer becomes the usual written form.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. brother: a man or boy with the same parents as another person: mijn oudste broer woont in Gent.^[9][6][1]
2. A man treated as a brother, a very close friend.^[6]
3. (slang) bro, a form of address between men.^[1]
4. Something closely related to something else, such as a sister organisation or a related species.^[6][10]

Word family

• jabroer
• schoonbroer
• drinkebroer
• halfbroer
• tweelingbroer

Related words

• broeder
• English brother
• German Bruder

Usage notes

Een broertje dood hebben aan iets is to loathe something.^[1] For a monk or a nurse the form is broeder.^[2]

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 c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b Veen, P. A. F. van; Sijs, Nicoline van der (1997), Etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van onze woorden, 2nd ed., Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Lexicografie
5. ^ a b c d Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
6. ^ a b c d Algemeen Nederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; anw.ivdnt.org
7. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
8. ^ Schaar, J. van der (2004), Prisma voornamen, Utrecht: Het Spectrum
9. ^ Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
10. ^ WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org