huls

Forms

huls f or m (plural hulzen, diminutive hulsje n)^[1]

Etymology

The EWN analyses it as from Dutch hullen (“to wrap”), the stem of the verb with an old suffix, and the verb goes back to Proto-Germanic *huljan- (“to cover, wrap”).^[2] De Vries regards it instead as a 17th-century borrowing of German Hülse.^[3] Van der Sijs also gives German as the source, but dates the word to 1542.^[4][5][6]

The same suffix appears in Old High German hulisa “pod, husk” (modern German ⟨Hülse⟩, from which Swedish hylsa and Danish hylse are borrowed); without it there is Old English hulu “pod” (modern English hull), and with another suffix Gothic 𐌷𐌿𐌻𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍂 (hulistr, “covering”).^[2][3][7] De Vries identifies the suffix as *-isjō, *-usjō, used for names of tools, as in 𐌰𐌵𐌹𐌶𐌹 (aqizi, “axe”).^[3] Wiktionary reconstructs Proto-Germanic *hulisō (“case, covering, shell, pod”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover”).^[1] The word is related to helen² “to hide” and holster.^[2][3][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Huls is first recorded in 1542, meaning “pod, seed case”.^[2][5] The form hulse follows in 1573.^[7][9]

Semantic evolution

The word first meant the husk or pod of a plant, the case in which seeds or grain are enclosed, as in Groene airen in hare hulsen “green ears in their husks” (1688).^[10][2] In the 19th century it was transferred to ammunition, the casing that holds the powder of a cartridge (1851), and more widely to any protective sleeve or case, especially the straw cover of a wine bottle.^[2][10]

Timeline

• 1542 – Huls “pod, seed case” is first recorded.^[2][5]
• 1573 – The form hulse is recorded.^[7][9]
• 1688 – Hulsen is used of the husks of green ears of grain.^[10]
• 1851 – Huls is used of the casing of ammunition.^[2]
• 1872 – A cartridge is described as a bottle-shaped huls with a percussion cap.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A case or sleeve used as packaging.^[11][10]
2. (biology) A pod, a dry fruit that opens along two seams and holds a row of seeds.^[11][1]
3. A cartridge case, the shell of a round of ammunition.^[11][1][6]

Word family

• kogelhuls

Related words

• hullen
• holster
• German Hülse

Usage notes

Middle Dutch also had huls “holly”, the modern hulst, which has a separate source.^[12][10][13] It survives in place names such as the hamlet of Huls near Simpelveld, recorded in 1454.^[14]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 d Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
4. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2005), Groot leenwoordenboek, Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale
5. ^ a b c Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
6. ^ a b WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org
7. ^ a b c Veen, P. A. F. van; Sijs, Nicoline van der (1997), Etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van onze woorden, 2nd ed., Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Lexicografie
8. ^ Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
9. ^ a b Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 171
10. ^ a b c d e f 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. ^ Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
13. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
14. ^ Berkel, Gerald van; Samplonius, Kees (2018), Nederlandse plaatsnamen verklaard, Utrecht: Spectrum