Etymologically
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buiten

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈbœy̯.tə(n)/[1]

Forms

buiten (adverb, preposition); noun het buiten, plural buitens, diminutive buitentje[1] In Belgium it is also a noun de buiten “the countryside”.[2] The Zaan dialect has a short form buit, made as bin beside binnen.[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch bûten, inherited from Old Dutch būtan, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *biūtan (“outside of, without, except”).[4][1][5] It was formed with the Germanic prefix *bi- (see be-) and Proto-Germanic *ūtana (“outside, from outside”), an adverb made from the word that is now uit.[4][6][3] Middle Dutch had no descendant of the simple form, unlike beneden, beside which it still had neden.[4] Binnen and boven were formed in the same way.[6][7][8]

The prefixed word is found only in the North Sea Germanic languages: Old Saxon biūtan, ⟨būtan⟩, Old Frisian būta (modern West Frisian bûten) and Old English būtan, the source of English but.[4][1] The simple adverb is ūtan, Old High German ūzan (modern German außen), ūtan, Old Norse útan and Gothic 𐌿𐍄𐌰𐌽𐌰 (ūtana).[4][6] Its ending ⟨-ana⟩ originally expressed direction.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word first appears as part of a place name, Butensteneha, in a document of 944 known from a copy of 1150–58, and Butenburch in Veurne is recorded in 1120.[5][4] As an ordinary word it is first found in the Middle Dutch Aiol of 1220–40, in buten der stat “outside the town”, both as adverb and preposition.[4][9][7]

Semantic evolution

Besides the place sense, “outside, out of”, the preposition came to mean “not involved in” (buiten dienst “out of service”), “except” and “without” (buiten adem “out of breath”).[2] English but grew out of the same “except” sense into a conjunction, which Old Saxon used only with that and sô.[3][4]

As a neuter noun, het buiten is a country house with its grounds, recorded from 1784, and in Belgium de buiten is the countryside.[10][2] Among Amsterdam Jews buiten meant all the Jewish communities of the Netherlands outside Amsterdam, and naar buiten gaan was to visit the Jewish cemetery, which lay outside the town.[11][12]

Dutch carried the word overseas: Sranan Tongo boiti means “outside, except, country estate, countryside”, and it passed on into Saramaccan and Caribbean Hindustani;[13][1] Negerhollands had bittie and bytten and Berbice Dutch bitmo.[13][1] Danish sailors' language took it in compounds as bøjten-.[13] Afrikaans has buite.[1]

Timeline

  • 944 – Butensteneha, a place name with the word, is recorded (in a copy of 1150–58).[5][4]
  • 1120 – Butenburch in Veurne is recorded.[5]
  • 1220–40 – The Aiol has buten der stat “outside the town”, the first use as adverb and preposition.[4][9]
  • 1236 – The preposition appears in a charter from Ghent.[14]
  • 1784 – Buiten as a noun, “country house”, is recorded.[10]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. outside, outdoors, not in a building or not within given limits: De kinderen spelen buiten.[2][1][15]

Preposition

  1. outside (of), out of: buiten de stad wonen.[2][1]
  2. not involved in, apart from: iets buiten beschouwing laten.[2]
  3. except, apart from.[2]
  4. besides, in addition to.[2]
  5. without, lacking: buiten adem.[2]

Noun

  1. (het) a country house with its grounds, an estate.[2][1]
  2. (de, Belgium, informal) the countryside: op de buiten wonen.[2]

Word family

  • buitenland
  • buitenlands
  • buitenlander
  • buitenkant
  • buitenlucht
  • buitenshuis
  • buitengewoon
  • buitenaards
  • buitenstaander
  • buitenspel
  • buitenissig
  • buitenschools

Usage notes

De bloemetjes buiten zetten means to celebrate in high style;[16][2] Stoett explains it as dressing up with flowers.[16][2] Ga buiten spelen! is used to tell someone to go away.[17] Separate verbs buiten “to exchange, barter”, old in the east and kept in ruilebuiten, and buiten “to plunder”, from buit and the base of vrijbuiter, have the same spelling.[10][13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  3. ^ a b c Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b c d Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
  6. ^ a b c Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 90
  9. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  10. ^ a b c 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
  11. ^ Beem, H. (1974), Uit Mokum en de mediene: Joodse woorden in Nederlandse omgeving, Assen: Van Gorcum
  12. ^ Kamp, Jacob van de; Wijk, Jacob van der (2006), Koosjer Nederlands: Joodse woorden in de Nederlandse taal, Amsterdam: Contact
  13. ^ a b c d Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  14. ^ 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
  15. ^ WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org
  16. ^ a b Stoett, F. A. (1923–1925), Nederlandsche spreekwoorden, spreekwijzen, uitdrukkingen en gezegden, 4th ed., 3 vols., Zutphen: Thieme
  17. ^ Sterkenburg, P. G. J. van (2001), Vloeken: een cultuurbepaalde reactie op woede, irritatie en frustratie, 2nd ed., Den Haag: Sdu