Etymologically
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jouw

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Pronunciation

Forms

jouw (dependent possessive, independent possessive jouwe, contracted form je)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch jouwe, inherited from Old Dutch *jūwa, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *iuwar, inherited from Proto-Germanic *izweraz.[1][2] In Middle Dutch it was a western by-form of uwe, the possessive that grew out of the genitive of the plural pronoun ghi, so that it meant “of you (all)”.[2][3] Van Veen and Van der Sijs call ⟨jou⟩ and ⟨jouw⟩ Ingvaeonic, coastal forms of a West Germanic ⟨iuw-⟩ whose southern forms ⟨u⟩ and ⟨uw⟩ were preferred in the written language, and De Vries lists ⟨jou(w)⟩ as the Holland dialect form.[4][5] The spelling with ⟨ou⟩ reflects the change of final /u/ to /ou/ in much of the language area, and the word's later history runs parallel to that of the object pronoun jou, which came to belong to the Holland pronoun jij.[2]

The same possessive is Old Saxon iuwar, Old High German iuwar (modern German euer), Old Frisian iuwer, Old English ēower (modern English your), Old Norse yðvarr and Gothic 𐌹𐌶𐍅𐌰𐍂 (izwar).[2][4][6] The Philippa dictionary explains the Proto-Germanic ending as modelled on the first-person possessive Proto-Germanic *unsara, the source of ons.[2] Wiktionary calls the word a doublet of uw.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The possessive with ⟨j⟩ is first found in Middle Dutch charters of the 1280s: juwe strate “your street” and te juwer here “to your honour” (1280), and in 1287 Sweder van Abcoude calls himself ju man ende iu ridder, “your vassal and your knight”.[2] Forms with ⟨ou⟩, such as jou here “your lord” and in jouwer hant “in your hand”, appear in texts of about 1350.[2]

Semantic evolution

Like the object pronoun jou, the possessive at first referred to several people and later also to one; it ended up as the possessive of jij alone, while uw kept the polite and the southern gij forms.[2] The Ghent grammarian Joos Lambrecht noted in 1550 that Hollanders said iou where he wrote ù.[2] In Plantijn's dictionary of 1573 juwe still stands beside uwe as a translation of French vostre.[3][7] In modern Dutch jouw is the stressed possessive, beside unstressed je.[8][1] In Surinamese Dutch jouw is often used where the standard language has the unstressed form.[9]

The word was borrowed into Chinese Malay as yow, and Jersey Dutch had jāu.[10][1]

Timeline

  • 901–1000 – Old Dutch iuwa “your (plural)”, the common ancestor of jouw and uw, appears in the Wachtendonck Psalms.[2][11]
  • 1280 – Middle Dutch juwe strate “your street” is recorded.[2]
  • 1287 – Sweder van Abcoude writes ju man ende iu ridder.[2]
  • c. 1350 – Forms with ⟨ou⟩ appear: jou here, jouwe wapene “your weapons”.[2]
  • 1573 – Plantijn's dictionary gives juwe beside uwe.[7][3]

Meanings

Determiner

  1. your: the possessive of the informal singular jij, used when it is stressed or contrasted: Is dit jouw jas of die van hem?[8][1]
  2. de jouwe, het jouwe: yours, used without a noun: Mijn fiets is kapot, mag ik de jouwe lenen?[1]

Usage notes

A separate jouw is an interjection that was a cry of joy and, more often, of mocking scorn;[7] Kiliaan (1588) glossed it with Latin io.[7] Plantijn's dictionary of 1573 already has it as a noun in eenen iouw geven “to give a jeer”, and a 1613 quotation has Jou, jou! as a taunt together with the verb jouwen “to jeer”.[7] The Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal doubts whether all its uses belong to one word.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
  4. ^ a b Veen, P. A. F. van; Sijs, Nicoline van der (1997), Etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van onze woorden, 2nd ed., Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Lexicografie
  5. ^ Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  6. ^ Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ a b Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  9. ^ Donselaar, J. van (1989), Woordenboek van het Surinaams-Nederlands, Muiderberg: Coutinho
  10. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  11. ^ Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org