Etymologically
Log in

hebben

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 21 October 2026 at 14:36. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /ˈɦɛbə(n)/[1]

Forms

hebben (present ik heb, hij heeft; past tense had, past participle gehad)[2][1] Middle Dutch also had the eastern form haen.[3] Most dialects say the third person singular without /f/, as hee or het.[4] The form heeft belonged first to the written language.[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch hebben, inherited from Old Dutch hebon, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *habbjan, inherited from Proto-Germanic *habjaną.[4][1] The double /bb/ of the infinitive comes from gemination before the suffix Proto-Germanic *-jan-.[4] Where the /j/ was absorbed into the ending, in the second and third person singular present, there was no gemination: Middle Dutch heves “you have” and hevet “he has” became the modern third person after lengthening, loss of the unstressed /e/ and assimilation of the /v/.[4] The past tense also lacked /i/ and so had no umlaut.[4] Its /bd/ was later assimilated, giving the /dd/ of had.[4]

The same verb, with this suffix, is Old Saxon hebbian, Old English habban (modern English have) and Old Frisian hebba, while Old High German habēn (modern German haben), Old Norse hafa and Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽 (haban) continue another formation, Proto-Germanic *hab-ēn-.[4][5][6] Zeggen shows the same split.[4][7]

The root Proto-Germanic *hab- is traditionally seen as a variant of *haf- in heffen, with grammatical alternation.[4][7] Formally it would go back to Proto-Indo-European *kap-, the root of Latin capiō (“to take”) and Ancient Greek κάπτω (káptō, “to seize”), and Kroonen treats the verb as a stative verb of this root.[4][6] The meaning is strikingly close to habeō (“to have, hold”), which with Old Irish gaibid (“to take”) and Lithuanian gabenti (“to bring”) would need a different root Proto-Indo-European *gʰabʰ-.[4] Scholars have usually kept the roots apart and assumed that they mixed in the separate languages, while a newer view treats them as variants of a pre-Indo-European root.[4][8][5] Franck–Van Wijk denied any link with the Latin verb.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old Dutch forms such as hebon “to have”, heuit “has” and hatton “they had” are found in the 10th-century Wachtendonck Psalms, both as a full verb and as an auxiliary, as in faruuart heuit “has destroyed”.[4][9] One line speaks of sinners who hatton ricduom, “had riches”, in the world.[10] Middle Dutch hebben is recorded about 1240.[4]

Semantic evolution

The original Germanic sense was “to hold fast”, still common in the older languages: an early 14th-century Middle Dutch text says that the lady hadde Hernaut and Gerine, that is, held them, and kissed them many times.[4] The weakening to “to possess” and the use as an auxiliary with a past participle are common Germanic, and run parallel to French avoir and Italian avere from Latin habēre.[4] A synonym, Proto-Germanic *aigan- “to own”, related to eigen, had already been displaced by hebben in Old Dutch.[4]

From the verb came hebbig “greedy” (1599, Kiliaan), hebzucht “greed” (about 1610) and hebberig (1898).[4] Dutch passed the verb on to Negerhollands ha, hab, Berbice Dutch ha, habu and Javindo geef;[11][1] Afrikaans has hê.[11][1]

Timeline

  • 901–1000 – Old Dutch hebon, heuit and hatton appear in the Wachtendonck Psalms.[4][9]
  • c. 1240 – Middle Dutch hebben and heft “has” are recorded.[4]
  • 1288 – Heves “you have” appears.[4]
  • 1599 – Kiliaan records hebbig “greedy”.[4]
  • c. 1610 – Hebzucht “greed” is first recorded.[4]
  • 1898 – Hebberig appears in Van Dale.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To have, own, possess.[12][1]
  2. To have as a relative or relation: zij heeft drie broers, “she has three brothers”.[12]
  3. To have at one's disposal; to have as a quality.[12][13]
  4. To suffer from an illness: hij heeft griep, “he has the flu”.[12][1]
  5. To be in a situation: het koud hebben, “to be cold”.[12]
  6. To feel, experience.[12]
  7. (auxiliary) Forming the perfect tense with a past participle: ik heb gegeten, “I have eaten”.[12][1]
  8. (with te) Must, to have to: je hebt te wachten, “you have to wait”.[1][13]

Word family

  • hebberig
  • hebzucht
  • hebbeding
  • liefhebben
  • liefhebber
  • bevelhebber
  • machthebber
  • aanhebben
  • doorhebben
  • beethebben
  • ophebben
  • onderhevig
  • heffen
  • English have
  • German haben

Usage notes

Zijn hebben en houden means all one owns.[12] The verb appears in many fixed phrases, such as haar op zijn tanden hebben, “to be sharp-tongued”, and boter op zijn hoofd hebben, “to criticise others for one's own faults”.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y 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
  5. ^ a b Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  6. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  7. ^ a b c Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  8. ^ Haeringen, C. B. van (1936), Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal: Supplement, 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  9. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  10. ^ Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
  11. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  13. ^ a b WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org