Etymologically
Log in

echt

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 21 October 2026 at 14:56. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

echt1 real, genuine

Pronunciation

Forms

echt (comparative echter, superlative echtst)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch echt, inherited from Old Dutch *ēhaft, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *aiwahaft.[2][1] It is a very old compound, Germanic ⟨*aiwō-hafta-⟩: the first part is the noun Proto-Germanic *aiwō- “law, custom”, the second the suffix ⟨-haft⟩ “in accordance with” that became -achtig.[2][3] Regular sound change gave ⟨ēhacht⟩, contracted to ⟨echt⟩.[2][4] The first part is Old Dutch ēwa (“law”) and Middle Dutch ewe or ee (“law, marriage”), the word in eega.[2][5]

The compound is also Old Saxon ēhaft (“lawful”), Old High German ēhaft (“just, sacred”) and Old Frisian aft, but in most languages it was later replaced by the Dutch word, often by way of Low German: Middle Low German echte is from Middle Dutch, and German echt, Danish ægte and Swedish äkta in turn come from Middle Low German.[2][6] The original sense, “in keeping with custom and law”, survives in onecht, especially of a child born outside marriage.[2]

The further origin of ⟨*aiwō⟩ is uncertain.[5] The EWN and Weisweiler connect it with eeuw, taking the basic sense as “law valid for ever”, while Franck and Van Wijk compared Latin aequus (“level, fair”) and denied any link with ⟨eeuw⟩, and Van Haeringen thought neither view proved.[2][5][4][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The EWN and Van der Sijs date the adjective to the 10th-century Wachtendonck Psalms, with echt and eft “lawful”,[2][8] but the ONW reads those glosses as an adverb eft “but, again”, which rendered Latin vero.[9] Middle Dutch echt “lawful, joined in marriage” is recorded in the mid-13th century,[2][3] and a text of 1265–1270 uses it for “true, truly”.[2]

Semantic evolution

The first meaning was legal: lawful, especially of marriage, of husband and wife and of children born in wedlock.[10][11] The 17th century still said echte man and echte vrouw and van echten bedde “of a lawful marriage” (1632), uses the WNT calls almost obsolete in 1916.[11]

From the 17th century the sense “genuine, not forged, not feigned” took over.[2] The WNT has echt berouw “true remorse” from 1766 and a stone “far too big to be genuine” from 1837.[11] The word then came to mean “a real, typical example of”, and in plant and animal names it marks the type, as in echte kamille.[11][12] As an intensifying adverb, “really”, it belonged at first to popular and children's speech.[11]

Danish ægte, Norwegian ekte and Estonian ehtne come from Dutch or Low German, and Papiamentu echt and Sranan èkte “real” from Dutch.[6]

Timeline

  • Mid-13th century – Middle Dutch echt “lawful, married” is recorded.[2][3]
  • 1265–1270 – The adverb “truly” appears.[2]
  • 1325 – Eyn echt wijff “a lawful wife” is recorded.[10]
  • 1632 – Van echten bedde “born in wedlock” is recorded.[11]
  • 1766 – Echt berouw shows the sense “not feigned”.[11]
  • 1837 – Echt is used for a stone, “not imitation”.[11]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. genuine, authentic, not imitation: Is die ring van echt goud?[12][1][13]
  2. Real, typical, being fully what is named: Het was een echte zomerdag.[12][11]
  3. (dated) lawful, especially concerning marriage.[12][11]

Adverb

  1. (intensifier) Really, truly: Dat is echt lekker.[1][11]

Word family

  • echtheid
  • onecht
  • echten
  • echtjes
  • wasecht

echt2 marriage

Pronunciation

Forms

echt m (uncountable, no diminutive)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch echte (“marriage”), the Middle Dutch adjective echt (“lawful”) used as a noun, so that the word expresses the lawfulness of the union.[2][3][4] The adjective has since lost that meaning.[2][1] The same noun is Middle Low German echte and Old Frisian afte.[2][5] It was neuter at first, and the masculine gender appears only in modern Dutch.[4][5]

Van Helten proposed instead an original feminine ⟨*aihti⟩ “possession”, comparing Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍄𐍃 (aihts, “property”) and Old Saxon ⟨ēht⟩ “property acquired by marriage”.[5] Franck and Van Wijk treated that noun as a separate word, related to eigen.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Van der Sijs dates the noun to the Lex Salica of 701–800.[8] The EWN's first Middle Dutch record is from 1300–1325: dat hi metten rechte ne conste gecomen uter hechte, “that he could not lawfully leave the marriage”.[2]

Semantic evolution

As an independent noun the word is now formal or old-fashioned and occurs almost only in phrases such as in de echt treden “to marry” and door de echt verbonden worden.[2][12] The WNT records den echt breken and scheuren “to break the marriage” (1613), ten echt geven “to give in marriage” (1616), and the obsolete een belofte houden als de hond zijn echt, “to keep a promise as a dog keeps its marriage”.[11]

Compounds with echt have been frequent since the end of the 16th century: echtscheiding (1599), echtpaar (1608), echtgenoot (1631).[2] Danish ægte, Norwegian ekte and Swedish ta till äkta “to marry” come from Dutch or Low German, and Negerhollands has echt and echte.[6]

Timeline

  • 701–800 – The noun is dated to the Lex Salica.[8]
  • 1300–1325 – Middle Dutch echte “marriage” is recorded.[2]
  • 1599 – Kiliaan has echt-scheydinge “divorce”.[2]
  • 1608 – Echtpaar “married couple” is recorded.[2]
  • 1613 – U echt … scheuren “to break your marriage” is recorded.[11]
  • 1631 – Echtgenoten “spouses” is recorded.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (formal) marriage, matrimony: Zij traden in 1950 in de echt.[12][1][13]

Word family

  • echtelijk
  • echtgenoot
  • echtpaar
  • echtscheiding
  • echtbreuk
  • echtelieden
  • eeuw
  • eega
  • -achtig
  • echter
  • German echt
  • German Ehe

Usage notes

Middle Dutch also had an adverb echt “afterwards, again, further”, as in nu ende echt “now and always”, which is a derivative of af and belongs with echter.[14][9][10] The place name Echt in Limburg is explained from a Middle Dutch echt “property”, a forest reserved for the lord.[15]

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 r s t u v w 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 Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 117
  4. ^ a b c d e Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  5. ^ a b c d e f Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  6. ^ a b c Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  7. ^ Haeringen, C. B. van (1936), Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal: Supplement, 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  8. ^ a b c Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  9. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
  10. ^ a b c Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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
  12. ^ a b c d e f Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  13. ^ a b Algemeen Nederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; anw.ivdnt.org
  14. ^ 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
  15. ^ Berkel, Gerald van; Samplonius, Kees (2018), Nederlandse plaatsnamen verklaard, Utrecht: Spectrum