heen

heen¹ away

Pronunciation

• /ɦeːn/^[1]

Forms

heen^[1] The fuller form henen was usual in Middle Dutch and is now archaic.^[2][3]

Etymology

The adverb is inherited from Middle Dutch henen (“away from here”), inherited from Proto-Germanic *hinana- (“away from here”).^[2][1] It is formed from the pronominal stem Proto-Germanic *hi- (“this, here”) of hier, with a suffix of direction ⟨-ana⟩ as in beneden and boven.^[2][4][3] The same stem is in hij and huiden.^[3]

Middle Dutch had both hene, like Old High German hina (modern German hin), and henen, like Old Saxon hinana and Old English heonan, whose descendant English hence added an adverbial ⟨-s⟩.^[5][3][2] Vandaan has the same formation.^[5][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Middle Dutch hinne “away from here” is first recorded in Aiol, 1220–1240: the children would van hinne nimmer wiederkeren, never come back from there.^[2][6] The usual form henen renders Latin hinc in the Limburg glossary of 1240.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

In Middle Dutch the adverb went with verbs of motion such as gaen, riden and varen, and henen varen or henen gaen could mean “to die” (1265).^[6] It was also joined to daer and waer, as in waer wildi henen riden, “where do you want to ride to?” (1260–1270).^[2] The short form heen became common only after the Middle Dutch period.^[2] By analogy with daarheen the later hierheen was formed, recorded in the States Bible (1637).^[2]

The Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal notes that the adverb is rather rare on its own but very common in compounds, and that from “away from here” came “gone, far off” and “onward”.^[3] Heen en weer “to and fro” is recorded in 1640.^[3] Uses like heenstorten “to fall down” match a sense that is very common in German hin, and Moortgat lists heengeven and heenwijzen as germanisms, while defending the older heenvaart.^[3][7]

The adverb was borrowed from Dutch or Low German into Danish and Norwegian as hen and into Swedish as hän, and into Negerhollands.^[8] Afrikaans has heen.^[1]

Timeline

• 1220–1240 – Hinne “away from here” in Aiol.^[2][6]
• 1240 – Henen glosses Latin hinc.^[6][2]
• 1265 – Henen gaen is used for “to die”.^[6]
• 1287 – The adverb in the sense “away” is recorded in Der naturen bloeme.^[9]
• 1573 – A dictionary gives hen, henen in Gaet henen, “go away”.^[3]
• 1637 – Hier henen “hither” in the States Bible.^[2]
• 1640 – Heen en weer “to and fro”.^[3]

Meanings

Adverb

1. away, towards a distant point: Waar ga je heen?^[10][1]
2. On the way out, on the outward journey: Heen gingen we met de trein, terug met de bus.^[10]
3. In the direction named: Ze reden naar het strand heen.^[10][11]
4. Strengthening a preposition or adverb of direction: Hij keek over de muur heen.^[10][11]
5. (slang) Gone, beyond the bounds of the normal.^[1]

Word family

• heengaan
• heenweg
• heenreis
• doorheen
• omheen
• overheen
• voorheen
• henen

heen² sea clubrush

Pronunciation

• /ɦeːn/^[1]

Forms

heen n (uncountable, no diminutive)^[1] It is also called heent.^[3][4]

Etymology

The plant name is inherited from Old Dutch hēn (“sea clubrush”), known in Old Dutch only from place names.^[12] Wiktionary takes it further back: it is inherited from Proto-Germanic *hainō (“whetstone”), like Low German heenk and Old Norse hein.^[1] De Vries suggests that the sharp points of the leaves gave the name and links it with that word and Old English hān (modern English hone), all “whetstone”, and with Ancient Greek κῶνος (kônos, “cone, point”) and Latin cōs (“whetstone”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱō(i)- (“to sharpen”).^[4][13][14] The Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal reports that Boekenoogen linked it with North Holland ⟨hanebollen⟩ but prefers the comparison with Low German ⟨hân(e)⟩ and ⟨heenk⟩, names of similar waterside plants.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The name is first found in the place name Heembeke (Hembeke near Oudenaarde) in 838.^[12] As a common noun it appears in a placard of 1562 that lists rushes, reed and heen among the growth of the river forelands.^[3][13]

Semantic evolution

The Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal describes heen as a name, recorded especially for South Holland, for the sea clubrush, a rush that grows on land that dries at low tide and serves as fodder, also called zeebies and in Groningen heenwortel.^[3] De Vries gives the sense “tufted sedge”, especially in Waterland.^[4] Today it is the Dutch name of the sea clubrush, common along the coast, in polders and by rivers in Flanders and the Netherlands.^[11][1]

Timeline

• 838 – The place name Heembeke contains the plant name.^[12]
• 1562 – Heen is listed in a placard among rushes and reed.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. sea clubrush (Bolboschoenus maritimus), a rush of coasts and riverbanks.^[1][11][3]
2. (regional) Tufted sedge (Carex stricta).^[4]

Word family

• heenwortel