hun

Forms

hun (dependent possessive, independent possessive hunne)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch hen, also spelled hun, inherited from Old Dutch im, inherited from Proto-Germanic *im, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eimus, originally the dative plural of the third-person pronoun.^[2][3][4] The same form is Old Saxon im, Old High German im (modern German ihnen), Old Frisian him, Old English him and Gothic 𐌹𐌼 (im).^[2][4][5]

The ⟨h-⟩, probably at first a demonstrative particle, was put before the old stem in North Sea Germanic and parts of Middle Franconian, as in hij, hem and haar.^[2] The Wachtendonck Psalms mostly lack it, as the reviser's inland dialect did, and their single ⟨hin⟩ stands in the strongly Middle Franconian second psalm.^[2] De Vries & De Tollenaere and Franck–Van Wijk explain the ⟨h-⟩ as taken over from ⟨hij⟩.^[5][4] Middle Dutch ⟨hen⟩ and ⟨hun⟩ were probably only spellings of one form /hən/; the Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek calls ⟨hun⟩ a dialect form, comparable to ⟨bul⟩ beside ⟨bel⟩.^[2][6]

The possessive developed late in Middle Dutch from the dative, replacing the older ⟨haar⟩ that served all genders in the plural.^[2][3][4] De Vries thinks the wish for a distinct form and blends of ⟨hare kinderen⟩ with ⟨de kinderen van hen⟩ helped the change.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Wachtendonck Psalms (10th century) have Old Dutch im eleven times and hin once.^[2] Middle Dutch first has hem (1236) and hen;^[2][6] hun appears in 1358: dat si hun ghehenghich sijn, so waer sijs van hun vermaent worden, “that they obey them whenever they are urged by them”.^[2][6] The EWN finds the possessive in honne bode, “their messenger” (1450–1500), and hune amptman, “their bailiff” (about 1510).^[2] Van der Sijs dates the possessive to 1358 instead.^[7]

Semantic evolution

In the 17th century grammarians who wished to regulate the language, Christiaan van Heule and P. C. Hooft, prescribed hun for the dative and hen for the accusative, and three centuries of teaching carried this artificial rule through in writing.^[2] In speech hun remained the general stressed form for people in all positions.^[2]

In the 20th century a strong tendency arose, only in the Netherlands, to use hun also as the subject: it is probably older in speech and dialect (around 1900), but the Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal notes it in writing only from 1921.^[2] Since about the last quarter of the 20th century hen has been gaining ground at the expense of hun, which Zaalberg ascribes to hypercorrection.^[2]

As a possessive hun took over from haar from the 15th century, at first only for masculine and neuter plurals.^[2] The distinction was kept up artificially in 18th- and 19th-century schooling on the model of Latin genitives.^[2][8] In the standard language, and in most speech, hun has now replaced the possessive haar entirely.^[2] Chinese Malay borrowed it as hen.^[9]

Timeline

• 901–1000 – Old Dutch im “(to) them” appears in the Wachtendonck Psalms.^[2][10]
• 1220–1240 – The plural object form is recorded in Middle Dutch.^[7]
• 1236 – Middle Dutch hem “them” is recorded.^[2]
• 1358 – Hun appears as a pronoun.^[2][6]
• 1450–1500 – The possessive honne “their” is recorded.^[2]
• 17th century – Van Heule and Hooft prescribe hun for the dative and hen for the accusative.^[2]
• 1921 – Subject hun “they” is noted in writing.^[2]

Meanings

Pronoun

1. (to) them, as indirect object: We hebben hun een kaart gestuurd.^[11][2]
2. (colloquial, Netherlands, proscribed) They, as subject, only of people: Hun hebben het gedaan.^[1][2]

Determiner

1. their: hun nieuwe auto.^[11][1]
2. (independent, with the article) Theirs: Dat huis is groter dan het hunne.^[1][8]

Related words

• hen
• hij
• hem
• haar
• zij
• German ihnen

Usage notes

In the written standard, hun is used for the indirect object and hen for the direct object and after prepositions; the rule goes back to 17th-century grammarians, and speech does not keep to it.^[2][11] Subject hun (hun hebben) is widely condemned, though common in the Netherlands.^[2][1] The capitalised Hun “Hun, a member of the nomadic people” is a separate word.^[8][1] A Middle Dutch hun glossing Latin elleborum in 1240 was probably an old name for hellebore, of obscure origin.^[12]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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 z 27 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 Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
4. ^ a b c d Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
5. ^ a b Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 171
6. ^ a b c d Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
7. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
8. ^ a b c 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
9. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
10. ^ Aarts, Flor (2017), Etymologisch dictionairke vaan 't Mestreechs, Maastricht
11. ^ a b c Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
12. ^ 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