Etymologically
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hem

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Pronunciation

Forms

hem[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch hem, inherited from Old Dutch himo (more often imo), inherited from Proto-Germanic *himmai, originally the dative singular masculine and neuter of the third-person pronoun.[2][1] The EWN reconstructs the Germanic stem as ⟨*imm-⟩, from older ⟨*ism-⟩, with /sm/ assimilated to /mm/.[2] The same form is Old Saxon imu, Old High German imo (modern German ihm), Old Frisian him, Old English him (modern English him) and Gothic 𐌹𐌼𐌼𐌰 (imma).[2]

The initial /h/ is a prefix, probably demonstrative in origin, that North Sea Germanic and parts of Middle Franconian put before the old stem, as in hij, haar and hun; the Wachtendonck Psalms mostly lack it, as their reviser's inland dialect did not use it there.[2] Proto-Indo-European had no separate third-person pronoun;[2] Germanic used the demonstrative Proto-Indo-European *h₁e, whose dative masculine singular is reconstructed as ⟨*h₁esmei⟩, and to which Latin eī and Sanskrit अस्मै (asmái) also belong.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the 10th-century Wachtendonck Psalms the form imo occurs 32 times as dative and accusative, and himo four times as dative, in the first psalms with their strong Middle Franconian colouring.[2] The Willeram (about 1100) has him and himo.[2]

Semantic evolution

North Sea Germanic, Old and Middle Dutch included, no longer kept the dative and accusative apart in the masculine, so hem served for both.[2] An old unstressed accusative -ne or -en survived into the 17th century, as in ick hanghen aenden hack, “I hang it on the hook” (1544).[2]

Middle Dutch had no reflexive pronoun and used hem for “himself, herself, itself” and, in the plural, “themselves” and “each other”.[2][3] From the 13th century, spreading from east to west and mainly in writing, the German loan zich took over that role, and the plural uses passed to hun and hen.[2]

In the euphemistic curse krijg hem! the empty object stands for some disease or disaster.[4] Dutch passed the pronoun to Negerhollands (em, am, hem “he, she, him, her”), and through it to Virgin Islands Creole, as well as to Sranan, Skepi Dutch and Javindo.[5][1]

Timeline

  • 10th century – Old Dutch imo and himo are recorded in the Wachtendonck Psalms.[2]
  • c. 1100 – Him and himo appear in the Willeram.[2]
  • 1200 – Middle Dutch hem is recorded in the Servaas legend.[6]
  • 1236 – Hem is used reflexively, “himself”, in a Ghent text.[3]
  • 1248 – Onder hem allen “among themselves” appears in Antwerp.[3]
  • 1544 – The old enclitic accusative appears in ick hanghen aenden hack.[2]

Meanings

Pronoun

  1. him: the object form of hij: Ik heb hem gisteren gebeld.[7][1]
  2. (games) The player who is “it” in a game of tag.[1]

Word family

  • hemzelf

Usage notes

Dat is hem is said when pointing out the person or thing meant, and volgens hem means “according to him”.[7] Separate words spelled hem are the noun hem, a plot of land surrounded by ditches or outside a dike, recorded from 1182,[8][6] and the interjection hem used to call someone or clear one's throat, recorded from 1611.[9]

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 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
  4. ^ Sterkenburg, P. G. J. van (2001), Vloeken: een cultuurbepaalde reactie op woede, irritatie en frustratie, 2nd ed., Den Haag: Sdu
  5. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  6. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  7. ^ a b Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  8. ^ Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
  9. ^ 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