Etymologically
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broer

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Pronunciation

  • /brur/, [bruːr][1]

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

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