er

Forms

er^[1]

Etymology

In ⟨er⟩ probably two older forms have fallen together.^[2][3] One is the genitive plural of the personal pronoun, “of them”, inherited from Old Dutch iro, which in Middle Dutch was often attached to the preceding word as ⟨-re⟩ or ⟨-er⟩.^[2][1][4] It corresponds to Old Saxon iro, Old High German iro, Old Frisian hira and Old English hiera (both with a later ⟨h-⟩) and Gothic 𐌹𐌶𐌴 (izē, “of them”).^[4][3] The other is ⟨der⟩, the unstressed form of daar, which had already lost its stress in Middle Dutch, as in dermede (“with it”) (1237).^[2][1]

The ⟨d-⟩ was lost where the preceding word ended in ⟨-d⟩ or ⟨-t⟩ and ⟨der⟩ was attached to it, as in ⟨gaat der⟩, heard as ⟨gaat-er⟩.^[2][4] The spoken form ⟨d’r⟩ is still common.^[2] The two sources may have influenced each other; the WNT treats the place adverb as ⟨der⟩ changed under the influence of the partitive ⟨er⟩.^[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The adverb is first recorded in a Ghent text of 1237, wert hire binnen gesien “is seen in there”.^[2][6][7] The pronoun it partly continues appears in the 10th-century Wachtendonck Psalms as iro “of them”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In Middle Dutch er referred to a place already named, also with verbs of motion (“thither”), and could stand without any real place as a grammatical subject.^[6] The partitive use, “of them”, is well recorded from the early 17th century: Voor wat prijs men der zoo eenen hebben kan “for what price one can get one of them”.^[2][5] The existential er appears in Indiender dan eenige vertroostinge is (1688), and in 1784–85 both uses stand together: Er staan er al een stuk drie vier.^[2]

Today the word has several functions: a weak “there”, an empty subject in existential and impersonal passive sentences, a pronominal stand-in for het or ze after prepositions (erop, ervan), and a partitive pronoun with numerals.^[1][8][5]

Petjo has d’r, and West Frisian took er in the sense “of it, of them”.^[9][1]

Timeline

• 10th century – Old Dutch iro “of them” appears in the Wachtendonck Psalms.^[2]
• 1237 – Middle Dutch er “there” and dermede “with it” are recorded in Ghent.^[2][7]
• 1630 – The partitive der “of them” is quoted.^[5]
• 1688 – Existential er appears in Indiender dan eenige vertroostinge is.^[2][5]
• 1784–85 – Er staan er al een stuk drie vier uses both kinds of er.^[2]

Meanings

Adverb

1. There, in or to a place already mentioned, without emphasis: Ben je er al eens geweest?^[10][1]
2. As an empty subject, without reference to a place: Er ligt een brief op tafel;^[10][1][5] Er werd hard gelachen.^[10][1][5]
3. With a preposition, standing for het or ze: Ik denk er vaak aan.^[1][8]

Pronoun

1. Of them, of it, with a numeral or a word of quantity: Ik heb er drie gekocht.^[10][1]

Word family

• erachter
• erbij
• erdoor
• erin
• erom
• erover
• ervan
• ervandoor

Related words

• daar
• haar
• hun

Usage notes

Er zijn means to have arrived, and figuratively to have succeeded;^[10][5] er geweest zijn is to be dead or finished.^[10][5] Er was eens, “once upon a time”, is the usual opening of a fairy tale.^[10]

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 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 Veen, P. A. F. van; Sijs, Nicoline van der (1997), Etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van onze woorden, 2nd ed., Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Lexicografie
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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
6. ^ a b 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
7. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
8. ^ a b WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org
9. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
10. ^ a b c d e f g Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers