buigen

Forms

buigen^[1] Strong verb: past tense boog, past participle gebogen; formerly also weak, buigde, gebuigd.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch bughen, inherited from Old Dutch *būgan, inherited from Proto-Germanic *būgan- (“to bend”).^[3][1][4] The same verb is Middle Low German bugen, West Frisian bûge, Old English būgan (modern English bow) and Swedish buga.^[3] With another stem vowel, from *beugan-, it is Old High German biogan (modern German biegen), Old Norse bjúga and Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐌿𐌲𐌰𐌽 (biugan).^[3][4] The rare Middle Dutch form bjegen belongs here too, the West Germanic ⟨iu⟩ having given both ⟨ie⟩ and ⟨u⟩.^[3][5] Why the vowel alternates, as in sluiten beside German schließen, is disputed.^[3]

A causative *baugjan- (“to make bend”) gave the Old Dutch past tense boigedon “they bent” in the 10th-century Wachtendonck Psalms, Middle Dutch bōghen, German beugen and Swedish böja.^[3][6][7] Van der Sijs and Van Veen date ⟨buigen⟩ from that 10th-century form.^[8][9]

The root is Proto-Indo-European *bʰeugʰ- (“to bend”);^[3][4][1] Sanskrit भुजति (bhujáti, “bends”) may be related, though it points to *bʰeug-.^[3][4][1] Older dictionaries also compare Latin fugiō (“to flee”), despite the mismatch of the consonant.^[10][2][9] From the zero grade come boog and bukken, and bocht, beugel and bochel are old derivatives with suffixes.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Middle Dutch bjegen glosses Latin flectere “to bend” in a Limburg glossary of 1240, beside boegelech for flexibilis.^[5][3] The form bughen follows in 1285, in a West Flemish text where people must bow their knees before Haman.^[3][5]

Semantic evolution

Middle Dutch used bughen for bending and bowing, for bending the knee in submission (1285), and for giving way, as of a sea monster whose hide is too hard to yield (1287); figuratively it meant to be inclined towards something.^[5] It could also mean to turn something in another direction, to subdue, and to soften, in the passive “be moved to pity” (1477).^[11]

The Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal records bowing out of respect or courtesy, as of elephants that must bow and kneel before the white elephant (1676), in het stof buigen “to bow in the dust”, buigen als een knipmes “to bow like a jack-knife” for servile bowing (1841), and yielding or submitting, buigen onder someone (1640).^[2] The saying het moet buigen of barsten “it must bend or break” is found in the 17th century, in Hooft among others.^[12] In grammar buiging “inflection” is used from 1584.^[3]

The verb went to Sranan Tongo as boigi and to Negerhollands as bieg, and survives in Afrikaans buig.^[13][1]

Timeline

• 901–1000 – The Old Dutch past tense boigedon appears in the Wachtendonck Psalms.^[8][3]
• 1240 – Middle Dutch bjegen glosses Latin flectere.^[5][3]
• 1285 – The form bughen is recorded.^[3]
• 1584 – Buiging is used for grammatical inflection.^[3]
• 1640 – Buigen onder iemand “to submit to someone” is recorded.^[2]
• 1676 – The verb is used of bowing in homage.^[2]
• 1841 – Buigen als een knipmes is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To bow, make a bow.^[14][1]
2. To bend, move away from the usual straight position or direction.^[14][1]
3. To give way, submit.^[14][2]
4. To bend something, make it deviate from its usual position.^[14][1]
5. Zich buigen over: to give one's attention to a question.^[15]

Word family

• buiging
• buigzaam
• buigbaar
• buigspier
• afbuigen
• doorbuigen
• ombuigen
• verbuigen
• neerbuigen
• vooroverbuigen

Related words

• boog
• bukken
• bocht
• beugel
• bochel
• English bow
• German biegen

Usage notes

Het is buigen of barsten means that whoever does not give way will be forced to.^[14][12] The strong past boog has replaced the weak buigde that was common in the 16th century.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p 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
4. ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altniederfränkisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
8. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
9. ^ 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
10. ^ Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 90
11. ^ Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
12. ^ a b Stoett, F. A. (1923–1925), Nederlandsche spreekwoorden, spreekwijzen, uitdrukkingen en gezegden, 4th ed., 3 vols., Zutphen: Thieme
13. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
14. ^ a b c d e Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
15. ^ WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org