groeten

Forms

groeten^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch groeten, inherited from Old Dutch *gruoten, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *grōtijan, inherited from Proto-Germanic *grōtjan-.^[2][1][3] The one Old Dutch record, gruozen (“to address”), has a High German form.^[2][4] The same verb is Old Saxon grōtian (“to address, greet”), Old High German gruozen (modern German grüßen), Old Frisian grēta (“to summon at law, attack, greet”) and Old English grētan (“to address, greet, attack”) (modern English greet); it exists only in West Germanic.^[2][5]

Kroonen and the EWN take it as the causative of *grētaną (“to weep”), which gave Gothic 𐌲𐍂𐌴𐍄𐌰𐌽 (grētan, “to weep”) and Old Norse gráta (“to weep”); only grœta (“to make cry”) keeps the causative meaning.^[2][3][5] The further origin is unclear: perhaps Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰred-, itself perhaps from *ǵʰer- (“to call”).^[2] Kroonen reconstructs the verb as *ǵʰroh₁d-éie-.^[3] Franck–Van Wijk's link with gretig is probably wrong.^[2]

De Vries explains the senses from a basic “to shout”: first the cry for help raised against an assault, then the call that brought a complaint before the court, from which came both “to address (the parties)”, hence “to greet”, and “to attack”.^[5] The legal sense lived on in Frisian, where a judge was the ⟨grietman⟩ and a rural district the grietenij.^[5][6] The VMNW analyses the Middle Dutch verb as formed from the noun ⟨groete⟩, while the EWN derives groet from the verb.^[7][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Around 1100 an Old Dutch text from Egmond asks what is to be done for her so siu scal gegruozet werthan, “when she is to be addressed”, with the verb meaning “to address”.^[2][4] Middle Dutch first has the friendly sense: a Limburg text of about 1200 says of a bishop's reception gutlike sine gruten, “they greeted him kindly”.^[2][7][8]

Semantic evolution

Middle Dutch also kept a hostile sense: hi metten spere groete, literally “he greeted with the spear”, meant that he attacked (1276–1300).^[2] The MNW finds only a few traces of an older sense “to rouse, invite”, and in Saxon law te campe groeten meant to challenge to a judicial duel.^[9][10] Kiliaan in 1599 already gave the hostile senses as old Saxon.^[10]

The friendly sense became the only one: blessing someone on meeting, wees gegroet “hail”, the Dutch opening of the Ave Maria, and God groete u “God keep you” (1573).^[10] Today groeten is to greet someone with words or a gesture on meeting or leaving.^[11] In Surinamese Dutch it also means to pay someone a short visit.^[12]

The verb lives on in Afrikaans groet, from which South African English took greet “to say goodbye”, and it was borrowed into Negerhollands as groet and gruet and into Ambonese and Kupang Malay as grut.^[13][1]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – Old Dutch gegruozet “addressed” is written at Egmond.^[2][4]
• 1200 – Middle Dutch gruten “to greet” is first recorded, in Limburg.^[2][7][8]
• 1240 – The noun grute “greeting” is recorded.^[2]
• 1276–1300 – Hi metten spere groete “he attacked with the spear”.^[2]
• 1285 – Dar groetedse ihesus te ghemoete “there Jesus came to meet them with a greeting”.^[2][7]
• 1573 – Godt groete u is glossed by French Dieu vous gard.^[10]
• 1599 – Kiliaan labels the hostile senses old Saxon.^[10]

Meanings

Verb

1. To greet: to say hello or goodbye to someone, or show courtesy with a gesture.^[11][1][14]
2. To salute.^[1]
3. (Suriname) To pay a short visit to someone; to send one's regards.^[12]

Word family

• groet
• begroeten
• teruggroeten
• groetenis

Related words

• grietenij
• English greet
• German grüßen

Usage notes

Ik groet je! is a way of saying goodbye, and wees gegroet a formal greeting.^[11]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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 Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
5. ^ a b c d Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
6. ^ Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
9. ^ Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
10. ^ a b c d e 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
11. ^ a b c Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
12. ^ a b Donselaar, J. van (1989), Woordenboek van het Surinaams-Nederlands, Muiderberg: Coutinho
13. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
14. ^ WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org