geen

Forms

geen^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch gheen, inherited from Old Dutch gēn, a shortening of Old Dutch nehēn (“not one”).^[2][3] That word was formed from the negative particle ⟨*ne-h⟩ “and not” and een (“one”), going back to Proto-Germanic *nehw (“nor, and not”) and Proto-Germanic *ainaz (“one”).^[2][1][4] By grammatical alternation the /h/ became /ɣ/ before the stressed syllable, giving Middle Dutch negheen; this was then reanalysed as ⟨ne⟩ + ⟨geen⟩, and the form was sometimes written separately as ⟨ne gene⟩.^[2][3][5] Beside it arose ⟨engheen⟩, with the usual Middle Dutch negative en, and finally the first element was dropped as superfluous.^[2][5]

The same formation is Old Saxon nigēn and Old High German nihhein, whose modern German kein lost the negative in the same way.^[2][6][7] Old Frisian nēn, Old English nān (modern English none) and Old Norse neinn are built with the plain negative ⟨*ne⟩ instead of ⟨*nih⟩.^[6][4] The particle ⟨*nih⟩ is the same as Gothic 𐌽𐌹𐌷 (nih, “and not”) and Latin neque (“and not, nor”), an extension of the negative Proto-Indo-European *ne (“not”), which also gave Old Irish ní, Old Church Slavonic не (ne), Lithuanian ne and Sanskrit न (na).^[2] The word nee was formed in a similar way.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old Dutch nehēn and gēn are first recorded about 1100 in the Willeram, as in noh newilt neheine spem hauan, “nor do you want to have any hope”.^[2][3][8] In Middle Dutch it appears in the Aiol (1220–1240): te geinen tiden “at no time, never”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In Old Dutch the word normally went with the negative particle ne; a few sentences without it show it meaning “any”, perhaps because it so often stood beside other negative words.^[3] Middle Dutch used gheen with nouns for “no, not any”, gheen dinc for “nothing” and gheen man for “nobody”, and often doubled the negation with en: sien verstont en geen latijn, “she understood no Latin” (1276–1300).^[2][9] The doubled negation lasted into the 17th century.^[5] A form egeen, worn down from engeen, is found in Middle Dutch and in some regions.^[5]

Besides negating a noun phrase, geen became a plain negation before a noun, and it can be used scornfully of something that does not deserve its name.^[10] With nog it means “less than”.^[10]

Afrikaans and Negerhollands have geen, and the Dutch-based mixed language Javindo has heen.^[1][11]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – Old Dutch nehēn and gēn are recorded in the Willeram.^[2][3][8]
• 1220–1240 – Middle Dutch te geinen tiden “never” appears in the Aiol.^[2][9]
• 1237 – The full form negeen is recorded.^[2][12]
• 1254 – Gheen is used in a Middelburg charter.^[9]
• 1276 – The form engheene is recorded.^[2]
• 1640 – Geen mensch “nobody” is quoted.^[5]
• 1876 – The WNT records the colloquial geen sterveling, “not a living soul”.^[5]

Meanings

Determiner

1. no, not a, not any: Ik heb geen tijd.^[10][1][13]
2. Used as a plain negation before a noun, “not”: Er kwam geen bus.^[10][1]
3. (pejorative) Used of something that does not deserve its name: Dat is geen soep, dat is water.^[10]
4. With nog: less than, not even: Het is nog geen acht uur.^[10]

Numeral

1. Not one, none: Van al die boeken heb ik er geen gelezen.^[10][1]

Word family

• geeneens
• geenszins
• generlei

Related words

• een
• nee
• noch
• German kein
• English none

Usage notes

Fixed phrases include voor geen goud, “not for anything”, and als geen ander, “better than anyone”.^[10] An archaic geen “yonder, that”, a form of gene, is a separate word, from Middle Dutch gene and Proto-Germanic *jainaz; it survives only in set phrases.^[1]

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 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 c d e Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
4. ^ a b 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, 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 Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ Vercoullie, Jozef (1925), Beknopt etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 3rd ed., 's-Gravenhage / Gent: Nijhoff / Van Rysselberghe & Rombaut
8. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
9. ^ a b c 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
10. ^ a b c d e f g h Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
11. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
12. ^ Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum
13. ^ Algemeen Nederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; anw.ivdnt.org