daar

Forms

daar^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch daer, inherited from Old Dutch thār, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *þār, inherited from Proto-Germanic *þar.^[2][1][3] The same word is Old Saxon thār, Old High German dār (modern German da), Old Frisian thēr (modern West Frisian dêr), Old English þǣr (modern English there), Old Norse þar (modern Swedish där) and Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐍂 (þar), all meaning “there, thither”.^[2][4][3] Outside Germanic it is related to Sanskrit तर्हि (tarhi, “then”).^[2][5]

It was formed with a suffix ⟨*-r⟩, as were hier and waar³, from the demonstrative root Proto-Indo-European *to-, so that the starting point was ⟨*to-r⟩; the same root is behind dat, de, die and deze.^[2][3][4] Franck and Van Wijk suggest that an Indo-European ⟨*tēr⟩ may have existed beside ⟨*tor⟩, which would explain the long vowel of West Germanic ⟨*þār⟩;^[6] Wiktionary calls that lengthening irregular, perhaps due to the influence of the word for “here”.^[1] According to the WNT two adverbs fell together in Dutch: one of place, matching Old High German ⟨dār⟩, and one of direction, matching Old High German dara (“thither”).^[7][6] The weak form ⟨dәr⟩, written er, already existed in Middle Dutch.^[6][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The adverb is recorded in the Wachtendonck Psalms of the 10th century, in Thar beniamin iungelig, “there Benjamin, the young one”.^[8][2] The first Middle Dutch record is from Limburg in 1200.^[9]

Semantic evolution

In Old Dutch thār meant “there, in that place”; it also took up a preceding phrase of place and could serve where modern Dutch has er.^[8] Middle Dutch used daer for “thither” (1254) and, introducing clauses, for “where” (1253), “while, when” (1285), “if” and “because”.^[2][9] Compounds such as daer aen, daer af, daer met, daer na and daer toe appear in the earliest official documents of about 1250, written separately or together,^[2] and dare ende hare, modern her en der, meant “here and there, everywhere”.^[9][10]

In modern Dutch daar no longer expresses direction, only place, which can shade into time or circumstance.^[7] The conjunction “since, as” is recorded from 1793 and now belongs to formal language.^[2][11] In the Dutch of Amsterdam Jews ik kom daar meant “I'm coming at once”, a temporal use modelled on Yiddish.^[12][13]

The word lives on in Afrikaans daar, in Negerhollands dae, daar and da, and in Berbice Dutch da, and Sranan drape “there” was formed from it.^[1][14]

Timeline

• 901–1000 – Thar appears in the Wachtendonck Psalms.^[2][15][8]
• 1200 – Middle Dutch daer is recorded in Limburg.^[9]
• c. 1250 – Compounds such as daer met and daer toe appear in official documents.^[2]
• 1253 – Daer introduces a clause, “where”.^[2]
• 1254 – Daer is recorded for “thither”.^[2]
• 1280 – The conjunction is recorded in Bruges, “because”.^[9][15]
• 1793 – Daar “since, as” is recorded.^[2][7]

Meanings

Adverb

1. there, in or at a place away from the speaker: Zet de doos daar maar neer.^[11][1][16]
2. Drawing attention to someone or something: Daar komt de trein!^[11]
3. Forming pronominal adverbs, standing for dat: Daar heb ik niets mee te maken.^[1][11]
4. hier en daar Here and there, in several places.^[11][7]

Conjunction

1. (formal) Since, as, because: Daar het regende, bleven we binnen.^[11][1]

Word family

• daarom
• daarna
• daardoor
• daarbij
• daarmee
• daarvan
• daarin
• daarentegen
• daarenboven
• vandaar
• ziedaar
• daarzo

Related words

• hier
• er
• waar³
• dat
• English there
• German da

Usage notes

After a statement one does not want to contradict, daar niet van introduces a reservation.^[11] The weak form er replaces daar when it is unstressed.^[6][11]

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 c Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
5. ^ Veen, P. A. F. van; Sijs, Nicoline van der (1997), Etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van onze woorden, 2nd ed., Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Lexicografie
6. ^ a b c d Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
7. ^ a b c d 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 Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
9. ^ 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
10. ^ Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
11. ^ a b c d e f g h Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
12. ^ Beem, H. (1974), Uit Mokum en de mediene: Joodse woorden in Nederlandse omgeving, Assen: Van Gorcum
13. ^ Kamp, Jacob van de; Wijk, Jacob van der (2006), Koosjer Nederlands: Joodse woorden in de Nederlandse taal, Amsterdam: Contact
14. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
15. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
16. ^ Algemeen Nederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; anw.ivdnt.org