Etymologically
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dokter

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈdɔk.tər/[1]

Forms

dokter m (plural dokters or doktoren, diminutive doktertje n, feminine doktores)[1] In the Brabant dialects of Belgium the word is doktoor.[2][3]

Etymology

It is a Dutch adaptation of doctor, inherited from Middle Dutch doctoor (“scholar, teacher”), borrowed from Latin doctor (“teacher”), an agent noun of doceō (“to teach”).[2][1][4][5] In Latin the title was used first for teachers of the Church, then for doctors of law and finally for physicians; in the sense “physician” the Dutch word is a shortening of ⟨medicinae doctor⟩ or of Dutch ⟨doctoor in medecynen⟩.[6][2]

The EWN explains the change to ⟨dokter⟩, with a reduced final vowel and ⟨k⟩ for ⟨c⟩, by the fact that people of every class used the word as a form of address, whereas ⟨doctor⟩ “holder of a doctorate” stayed in academic circles, where it was not Dutchified until the 20th century.[2] Their meanings have since parted so far that a ⟨dokter⟩ need not hold a doctorate.[2] The Brabant form ⟨doktoor⟩ rests on the oblique cases of the Latin word according to the Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal, but the EWN thinks the final stress of French docteur may have helped.[3][2] German Doktor took the sense “physician” around 1500, first in a Strasbourg text.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Middle Dutch docter “scholar, teacher” is recorded from 1265–1270, and doctoor from the 15th century, as when a text of 1451 calls Christ the most beautiful of teachers.[6][4] The sense “physician” first appears in 1576, in Coornhert's question Zijt ghy een medicus of doctor? “are you a medical student or a doctor?”.[2][3][8]

Semantic evolution

Kiliaan in 1599 still knew doctor only as an academic title.[9][7] A document of 1597 mentions the salary of the doctor and the surgeons, and the spelling with ⟨k⟩ is found in 1650; the EWN gives 1822 as the date of the modern form dokter.[2]

The older language also had doctor for a religious teacher and for the Church Fathers, and the phrase zich tot een doctor lachen “to laugh oneself silly” (1785), whose origin is unclear.[3] A travelling quack could be called a Hongaarse dokter “Hungarian doctor”.[3] By comparison the word was given to a hay assessor in North Holland, to a kind of cockchafer at Turnhout and to a scraper in paper making.[3] Today it can also be used of someone who repairs objects or tries to put matters right.[10]

The saying hij is met dat water al eens meer voor de dokter geweest “he has taken that water to the doctor before”, i.e. he has been through this before, recalls the time when doctors diagnosed from urine.[11]

Dokter is one of the most widely borrowed Dutch words: Indonesian dokter, Javanese dhokter, Minangkabau doto, Papiamentu dòkter, Sranan Tongo datra, Negerhollands doktu, and, through Afrikaans, Shona dhokotera.[12][1]

Timeline

  • 1265–1270 – Middle Dutch docter “scholar, teacher” is recorded.[6]
  • 1451 – Doctoor “teacher” is used of Christ.[4]
  • 1576 – Coornhert uses doctor for a physician.[2][13]
  • 1597 – A document mentions the salary of the doctor and surgeons.[2]
  • 1599 – Kiliaan knows doctor only as an academic title.[9]
  • 1650 – The spelling Docter appears in a farce.[2]
  • 1785 – Zich tot een doctor lachen “to laugh oneself silly” is recorded.[3]
  • 1822 – The modern spelling dokter is recorded.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A physician, a medical doctor; also used as a form of address: Ze ging met haar zoontje naar de dokter.[14][10][1]
  2. A general practitioner, a family doctor (huisarts).[10]
  3. Someone who repairs things or tries to put matters right.[10]

Word family

  • dokteren
  • huisdokter
  • armendokter
  • fondsdokter
  • wetsdokter
  • doktersjas
  • doktersrekening
  • doktersvisite
  • doctor
  • arts

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 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
  4. ^ a b c Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
  5. ^ Vercoullie, Jozef (1925), Beknopt etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 3rd ed., 's-Gravenhage / Gent: Nijhoff / Van Rysselberghe & Rombaut
  6. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  8. ^ Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 106
  9. ^ a b Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  10. ^ a b c d Algemeen Nederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; anw.ivdnt.org
  11. ^ Stoett, F. A. (1923–1925), Nederlandsche spreekwoorden, spreekwijzen, uitdrukkingen en gezegden, 4th ed., 3 vols., Zutphen: Thieme
  12. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  13. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  14. ^ Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers