dagen

Forms

dagen^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch dāghen, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *dagēn, inherited from Proto-Germanic *dagāną (“to dawn”), a verb made from Proto-Germanic *dagaz (“day”), the source of dag.^[1][2][3] In the sense “to become day” the verb is found across North and West Germanic: Middle Low German dāgen, Old High German tagēn (modern German tagen), Old English dagian and Old Norse daga.^[4][2]

The legal sense “to summon” is a Middle Dutch derivative of the noun in the sense “court day, fixed term”, so that it first meant to call someone to appear on the day of the session; Middle High German tagen had the same use.^[3][4][5] The Philippa dictionary gives the legal verb and the verb “to dawn” numbered entries of their own, both formed from the noun.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Both senses are first found in a Limburg glossary of about 1240, where dagen translates Latin diescere “to dawn” and citare “to summon”.^[6][3][7] A Brabant text of 1260 says that the night had passed ende het begonste dagen, and day began to break.^[6] In a Middelburg charter of 1254 one who is summoned (ghedaghd) and does not come is to be banished.^[6][5]

Semantic evolution

Middle Dutch also used the verb for inviting (God invites his chosen maiden to his feast, 1265), for God appearing to help someone, and for staying or lingering.^[6][8] From the 17th century the impersonal het daagt is “day breaks”, and het zal er anders dagen threatened that a very different day would dawn (1617).^[9] Poets used dagen of things rising above the horizon (1820), and figuratively of an idea that dawns on someone.^[9][1]

In law dagen means to summon before a court, and the person summoned is the gedaagde.^[9][10] Iemand in tweegevecht dagen for challenging someone to a duel was condemned as a gallicism in 1899.^[11] Sranan took dagi “to challenge”.^[12]

Timeline

• c. 1240 – Dagen “to dawn” and “to summon” in a Limburg glossary.^[6][3]
• 1254 – Ghedaghd “summoned” before a court in Middelburg.^[6]
• 1260 – Het begonste dagen, day began to break.^[6]
• 1522 – Te daghene, to summon to a court day.^[9]
• 1617 – Hoe selt hier daghen?, a threat of a bad day to come.^[9]
• 1664 – Dagen “to challenge to a fight”.^[9]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive) To dawn, to become day: het daagde al toen we vertrokken.^[10][1][13]
2. (intransitive) To begin to become clear to someone: langzaam begon het hem te dagen.^[1][13]
3. (transitive, law) To summon before a court, to dagvaarden.^[10][1][13]
4. (transitive) To call out, to challenge to a fight.^[1][9]

Word family

• indagen
• verdagen
• daging
• gedaagde
• ontdagen
• opdagen
• uitdagen

Related words

• dag
• dagvaarden

Usage notes

In Belgium dagen was used in 1925 of a congress being held, after German tagen; this use was criticised as a germanism.^[14]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e 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 Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
5. ^ a b Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum
6. ^ a b c d e f g 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
7. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
8. ^ Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
9. ^ a b c d e f g 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
10. ^ a b c Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
11. ^ Vreese, Willem de (1899), Gallicismen in het Zuidnederlandsch, Gent: Siffer
12. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
13. ^ a b c WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org
14. ^ Moortgat, A. (1925), Germanismen in het Nederlandsch, Gent