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gijpen

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Etymology and origin of the Dutch word gijpen

Confidence
Uncertain
First attested
1592 More words from the 16th century

Forms

gijpen (past tense gijpte, past participle gegijpt); older also giepen, gijben and gieben.[1] The 17th-century record also has gyppen (1653).[2]

Etymology

The origin is unclear.[2] It is usually grouped with other sailing terms such as giek, gieren and gei “rope for hauling in a sail”, without a detailed account of how these words and their meanings arose;[2][3][4] Franck–Van Wijk saw it as a younger formation in that family.[2][3][4] Hellquist connected it with ⟨gijpen⟩ “to gasp for breath”, the sail making a huge gaping movement as it swings over, and De Vries & De Tollenaere treat the two as one word; the EWN knows no better explanation.[2][5][6]

The word is found in the other Germanic languages only as a loan from Dutch.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The oldest records, from 1592 on, have only the infinitive used as a noun, het gijpen, the sudden, unintended swing of the mizzen when sailing before the wind, which could easily damage the ship.[2][4] A text of 1613 has het gyben, and one of 1618 speaks of being knocked over by a strong following wind in 't gijpen, “while gybing”.[1][2]

Semantic evolution

Other forms of the verb appear later, as in een gypend zeil “a gybing sail” (1664).[2][1] The subject can also be the ship (1667), and a saying records that whoever sails close to the wind runs no risk of gybing.[1] Early on it was used figuratively for a sudden, complete change, as in dit … gijpen der gezindtheden “this turning of opinions” (1626).[2][1]

English has the gibbing of the Yards in 1691, and the verb gybe, probably from older Dutch gijben, from the 1690s; the standard form became jib (1776).[2][7][5] German has gypen (1788) and giepen, gieben (1793), now standard giepen;[2][8] Danish has gibbe, Swedish gipa and gippa, Finnish kippaa through Swedish, and Papiamentu djeip.[2][8] Dutch has since borrowed back English jib as jibben, sliding a snowboard over a rail or table.[2]

Timeline

  • 1592 – Het gijpen “the gybing” is first recorded.[2][4]
  • 1613 – The form het gyben appears.[1][2]
  • 1618 – In 't gijpen is recorded of a ship caught by a following wind.[1][9]
  • 1626 – The figurative gijpen der gezindtheden “turning of opinions” appears.[1][2]
  • 1664 – Een gypend zeil shows another form of the verb.[2]
  • 1691 – English the gibbing of the Yards is recorded.[2]
  • 1776 – English jib becomes the usual form.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (nautical, of a sail or boom) To swing over to the other side when sailing before the wind.[10][1][11]
  2. (nautical, of a boat or sailor) To gybe: to change course with the wind astern, bringing the mainsail over.[11][1][8]
  3. (figurative, dated) To change or turn round suddenly.[1][2]
  • English gybe
  • English jib

Usage notes

A verb gijpen “to gasp for breath”, now mostly dialectal, has its own entry in the EWN: it goes back to Old Dutch gīpondi “gaping” in the 10th-century Wachtendonck Psalms and is probably related to geeuwen.[2][12] From the 17th century it also meant “to lie dying”, as in op het gijpen liggen.[1][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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
  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 Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  4. ^ a b c d Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  5. ^ a b Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 143
  6. ^ 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. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ a b c Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  9. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  10. ^ Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  11. ^ a b WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org
  12. ^ Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
Cite this entry

“Gijpen.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/nl/gijpen. Accessed 16 Nov. 2026.

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