Etymologically
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ding

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Pronunciation

Forms

ding n (plural dingen, diminutive dingetje n)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch dinc, inherited from Old Dutch thing, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *þing, inherited from Proto-Germanic *þinga- (“meeting, case, thing”).[2][1][3] The same word is Old Saxon thing (“lawsuit, matter”), Old High German ding (“court, lawsuit, thing”) (modern German Ding), Old Frisian thing (“lawsuit, charge, thing”) (modern West Frisian ding), Old English þing (“assembly, thing”) (modern English thing) and Old Norse þing (“court, place of assembly”) (modern Swedish ting).[2][4][3] With an ⟨s⟩ suffix there are Lombardic thinx (“legal grant”) and the name of the god Mars Thingsus, which is connected with dinsdag.[2][4][5]

The original sense was probably “appointed time”: with a change of consonant the word is related to Gothic 𐌸𐌴𐌹𐌷𐍃 (þeihs, “time”), so that the meaning would have run from “fixed time” to “meeting held at a fixed time”, the popular assembly and court, then to “lawsuit”, “matter” and “thing”.[2][3][6][7] In the same way French chose (“thing”) comes from Medieval Latin causa (“lawsuit, matter”), and zaak went through the same development.[2][8] De Vries argued the other way round, that the assembly came first and its fixed time later, and mentioned Trier's view that the word first meant an enclosed sacred place.[4]

The Germanic forms are traced to Proto-Indo-European *tenk-.[2][3] The EWN takes this as an extension, found only in Germanic, of the root ⟨*ten-⟩ “to stretch”, of dun, with time seen as a span;[2][3][1] Kroonen and Wiktionary derive the word from the verb Proto-Germanic *þinhaną (“to be suitable, to succeed”), so that the first sense was “suitable time”.[2][3][1] Vercoullie compared Latin tempus (“time”).[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The plural thing appears in the Wachtendonck Psalms of the 10th century, for instance idele thing “vain things” for Latin inania; in a text of about 1100 from Egmond a writer asks the prophets and apostles for counsel in mines thingas, “my affair”.[10][2][11] In Middle Dutch alle dinc “all things, everything” is found in Limburg around 1200.[2][12]

Semantic evolution

Middle Dutch used the word for matters and affairs (1236), property (1237), lawsuits (1290) and work (1300), and also for a court of law, about 1350;[2][12][8] te dinghe was “at the court session”.[2][12][8] The legal sense was rare in Middle Dutch, though common in Middle Low German; the Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal quotes it from 1522 and calls it obsolete, but it lives on in geding “lawsuit” and in dingen “to haggle”.[8][13][5] Already in Middle Dutch the word could be used of a living being, as it still is of a girl.[8][14]

By the 18th century ding named an object one has no name for (1714) or speaks of with contempt (1865).[13] Alle goede dingen bestaan in drieën “all good things come in threes” has been connected with the role of three in old law: there were three regular court sessions, and a proper session lasted three days.[15][6] Je eigen ding doen is a translation of English “to do your own thing”.[16]

The word passed through Afrikaans into South African English ding, and Berbice Creole Dutch has dinggi.[17][1]

Timeline

  • 901–1000 – Thing “things” in the Wachtendonck Psalms.[10][2][11]
  • c. 1200 – Middle Dutch alle dinc “everything”.[2][12]
  • 1236 – Dingen “matters”.[2]
  • 1290 – Dinc “lawsuits”.[2]
  • c. 1350 – Dinc “court of justice”.[2]
  • 1522 – Dingen “legal proceedings” in a legal text.[13]
  • 1714 – An object one cannot name.[13]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A thing, an object: Wat is dat voor een raar ding?[14][1]
  2. A matter, fact or circumstance: Er zijn dingen die je niet kunt uitleggen. Zijn ding doen is to do what one is good at or expected to do.[14][1]
  3. (informal) A young person, usually a girl: een lekker ding.[14][18]
  4. (informal) The penis.[14][18]
  5. (historical) The assembly of free men among the early Germanic peoples, which also served as a court.[14][1]

Word family

  • dinges
  • dingen
  • dingspel
  • dingwoord
  • onding
  • dingdag

Usage notes

In Flanders ding is also a predicative adjective, “friendly” (1911), and ding van iets zijn is to be in some mood about something that one cannot or will not name.[13]

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 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 c d e f 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. ^ a b Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 104
  8. ^ a b c d e Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
  9. ^ Vercoullie, Jozef (1925), Beknopt etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 3rd ed., 's-Gravenhage / Gent: Nijhoff / Van Rysselberghe & Rombaut
  10. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
  11. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  12. ^ a b c d 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
  13. ^ a b c d e 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
  14. ^ a b c d e f Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  15. ^ Stoett, F. A. (1923–1925), Nederlandsche spreekwoorden, spreekwijzen, uitdrukkingen en gezegden, 4th ed., 3 vols., Zutphen: Thieme
  16. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2005), Groot leenwoordenboek, Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale
  17. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  18. ^ a b WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org