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dan

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Pronunciation

Forms

dan[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch dan, inherited from Old Dutch than, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *þan, inherited from Proto-Germanic *þan (“then, at that time”).[2][1] The same word is Old Saxon than, Old High German danne (modern German dann and denn), Old Frisian thenne, Old English ðonne (modern English then and than), Old Norse þá (“then”) and Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐌽 (þan, “then, when”).[2][3][4]

It is formed with a suffix ⟨-n⟩ from the pronominal stem Proto-Indo-European *to-, the source also of de, die and dat.[2][3] Franck and Van Wijk argued that Gothic ⟨þan⟩ and its cognates had lost a final vowel, as 𐌸𐌰𐌽𐌰𐌼𐌰𐌹𐍃 (þanamais, “further, still”) shows, and so do not match Latin tum (“then”);[4][5][1] Vercoullie and a proposal reported by Wiktionary do connect it with that word.[4][5][1]

The adverb of time is the original use.[2] How it came to be used after a comparative is unclear: this happened before the written record in all the West Germanic languages, and ⟨A is groter dan B⟩ was perhaps first “A is bigger, and then B”.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is an Old Dutch gloss of 891, which renders Latin quid tunc “what then?” with uuat thanne.[6] The Wachtendonck Psalms of the 10th century use than “then”, and about 1100 bezzera than “better than” shows the use after a comparative.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

Old Dutch than meant “then, at that moment” and also “therefore”.[6] In Middle Dutch dan meant “then” and “in that case” by about 1201–1225, and followed comparatives by 1220.[2] In the 16th and 17th centuries it was used of a moment in the future or a recurring one, and also of the past (“at that time”), a use the WNT in 1910 found only in the southern Netherlands.[7] As a modal particle, as in Tot overmorgen dan! (1866), it invites the hearer to draw the conclusion from the context.[2][7]

Dutch passed the word to several languages: Sranan dan “then, and next”, Negerhollands dan and Berbice Dutch dana “then”; in Manado Malay and Petjo it became a particle that softens or urges, dan, dang.[8][1]

Timeline

  • 891 – Old Dutch thanne glosses Latin tunc “then”.[6]
  • 901–1000 – Than “then” is recorded in the Wachtendonck Psalms.[2][9]
  • c. 1100 – Bezzera than “better than” is recorded.[2]
  • 1201–1225 – Middle Dutch dan appears in Floris ende Blancefloer.[2]
  • 1220 – Dan after a comparative is recorded in Aiol.[2]
  • 1866 – The particle in Tot overmorgen dan![2][7]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. then, at that time (in the future): Kom morgen langs, dan heb ik tijd.[10][1]
  2. Then, after that, next: Eerst eten we, dan gaan we wandelen.[10][1]
  3. Then, in that case: Als het regent, dan blijven we thuis.[10][1]
  4. As a modal particle, drawing a conclusion or adding emphasis: Ga dan maar.[10][2]
  5. Moreover, besides: En dan is er nog de huur.[10]

Conjunction

  1. than, after a comparative: Zij is twee jaar ouder dan haar broer.[1][2]
  • nochtans
  • de
  • die
  • dat
  • English then
  • English than

Usage notes

Zo nu en dan means “now and then”.[10] In some varieties of Dutch, as in German, als replaces dan after a comparative.[2] The noun de dan, a grade of skill in judo and karate, is the international term from Japanese 段 (dan, “grade, rank”), recorded in a Dutch newspaper in 1949 and in the dictionary from 1961.[2][9][10][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q 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 Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  4. ^ a b c Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  5. ^ a b Vercoullie, Jozef (1925), Beknopt etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 3rd ed., 's-Gravenhage / Gent: Nijhoff / Van Rysselberghe & Rombaut
  6. ^ a b c d Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  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 d e f g Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers