Etymologically
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door

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Pronunciation

Forms

door (preposition, adverb)[1] The form deur has been widespread in Dutch dialects since Middle Dutch.[2][3] Low German has it too.[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch dore, inherited from Old Dutch thuro, inherited from Proto-Germanic *þurhw (“through”).[4][1][5] The same word is Old Saxon thuru, Old High German duruh (modern German durch), Old Frisian thruch and Old English þurh (modern English through and thorough); Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌷 (þairh) and Old English þerh show another ablaut grade, ⟨*þerh⟩.[4][2][5] North Germanic has lost the word.[2]

The EWN derives it from the root Proto-Indo-European *terh₂- (“to cross, pass through”), probably with the suffix Proto-Indo-European *-kʷe that is also found in doch and noch.[4][6] The same root gives Sanskrit तिरस् (tirás, “through, across”), Latin trāns (“across”) and Old Irish tar (“across”), and in Dutch darm and draaien.[4][2][7][8] Kroonen and Wiktionary also mention a second element meaning “eye”, Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ-, as in Sanskrit adverbs of direction.[5][1]

The dialect form ⟨deur⟩ has the umlauted vowel of Middle Dutch ⟨döre⟩.[7][8] Van Haeringen thought the influence of voor not enough to explain how common it is, and assumed an older form with an ⟨i⟩ between ⟨r⟩ and ⟨h⟩.[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old Dutch thuro is first found in the 10th-century Wachtendonck Psalms, which also use it in compounds that copy Latin words in per-: thurofremig “perfect”, thurolithon “to pass through”.[4][9] The Willeram of about 1100 writes thurgh.[4] In Middle Dutch dur is first recorded about 1200 in the legend of Saint Servatius, meaning “because of”.[4] The sense “through” follows in 1220–1240, in the romance of Aiol.[4][10]

Semantic evolution

The spatial sense and the use for the agent of an action were both present in Middle Dutch.[4] Middle Dutch dore also meant “because of”, but that sense passed to om in modern Dutch, which is why doordat and omdat are often confused; the modern causal door took over what Middle Dutch said with bi and van.[4] As an adverb it meant “through”, “very”, “throughout a period” and “all over”.[10]

With verbs door- usually means that something happens through and through; in the Old Dutch examples it probably imitates Latin per-.[4] It can also mean “on, further”, as in doorademen “to keep breathing”, and the 17th-century door liepen “walked on”.[4] Before adjectives it was an intensifier from the 14th century (dorearm “very poor”, doreout “very old”); the EWN suggests this use may come from mystical texts.[4]

In Belgium door koninklijk besluit, for Netherlandic bij koninklijk besluit, was criticised as a gallicism after French par arrêté royal.[11] Dutch door was borrowed far afield: Indonesian door “straight on”, Makassarese dôró “passed (an exam)”, Papiamentu dor, Sranan Tongo doro and, through Sranan, Saramaccan dóu.[12][1] Afrikaans has deur.[1]

Timeline

  • 901–1000 – Old Dutch thuro appears in the Wachtendonck Psalms.[4][13][9]
  • c. 1100 – The Willeram writes thurgh.[4]
  • c. 1200 – Middle Dutch dur “because of” is recorded in the Servatius legend.[4]
  • 1220–1240 – Dur “through” appears in the romance of Aiol.[4][10]
  • 1351 – Dore is used as an intensifier: soak it dore nat.[4]
  • 1602 – Door liepen “walked on” shows the sense “further”.[4]

Meanings

Preposition

  1. through, from one side of a space or object to the other: We fietsten door het bos naar huis.[14][1]
  2. Through, around, within a space without set limits: Ze dwaalden door de stad.[14][1]
  3. Through an opening: De kat kwam door het raam naar binnen.[14]
  4. Of time: through, during: door de jaren heen.[14][15]
  5. Mixed with: rozijnen door het deeg.[14][15]
  6. by, introducing the agent or the cause: Het huis werd door brand verwoest.[14][1][15]
  7. By means of: door hard te werken.[1][15]

Adverb

  1. Through, worn through: Mijn sokken zijn alweer door.[14]
  2. On, without stopping: aan één stuk door, without a break.[14][15]
  3. As the first part of separable and inseparable verbs: dóórlopen “to walk on”, doorlópen “to pass through, complete”.[15][4]

Word family

  • doordat
  • doorgaan
  • doorgang
  • doorbreken
  • doorlopen
  • doorgeven
  • doorhalen
  • doorslaan
  • doorstart
  • doorhebben
  • darm
  • draaien
  • English through
  • German durch

Usage notes

A separate, obsolete noun door meant “fool”: Middle Dutch dore is recorded in Brabant from 1265, a noun made from an adjective dore “foolish”, related to German Tor and to dwaas and duizelen.[10][16][17] By 1912 the Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal called it wholly obsolete in the Netherlands.[17] Swedish dåre “fool” comes from Dutch or Low German.[12] In Brabant and Zeeland dialects door or doren is the yolk of an egg, from Middle Dutch doder, the source of dooier.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  3. ^ a b Haeringen, C. B. van (1936), Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal: Supplement, 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t 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
  5. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  6. ^ Vercoullie, Jozef (1925), Beknopt etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 3rd ed., 's-Gravenhage / Gent: Nijhoff / Van Rysselberghe & Rombaut
  7. ^ a b Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  8. ^ a b Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 107
  9. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
  10. ^ 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
  11. ^ Vreese, Willem de (1899), Gallicismen in het Zuidnederlandsch, Gent: Siffer
  12. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c d e f g h Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  15. ^ a b c d e f WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org
  16. ^ Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
  17. ^ a b 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
  18. ^ Debrabandere, Frans (2010), Brabants etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van de woordenschat van Antwerpen, Brussel, Noord-Brabant en Vlaams-Brabant, Zwolle: Wbooks