leggen

Forms

leggen^[1] The older past tense and participle leide, geleid survive in dialects beside legde, gelegd.^[2] Eastern Middle Dutch also has lachte, gelacht.^[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch leggen, inherited from Old Dutch *leggon, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *laggjan, inherited from Proto-Germanic *lagjan- (“to put, lay”).^[4][1][5] It is the causative of liggen, meaning “cause to lie”.^[4][2][6][7]

The same word is Old Saxon leggian, Old High German leggen (modern German legen), Old Frisian ledza (modern West Frisian lizze), Old English lecgan (modern English lay), Old Norse leggja (modern Swedish lägga) and Gothic 𐌻𐌰𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 (lagjan).^[4][5] Kroonen derives it from Proto-Indo-European *logh-éie-, a causative formation; outside Germanic, De Vries and Franck–Van Wijk compare an Old Church Slavonic causative “to lay” and Old Irish fu-llugaimm (“I hide”).^[5][1][7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The oldest record is an Old Dutch text of about 1100 from Egmond, which says that wool to be dyed purple is first bound together and then geleget, laid, in channels.^[9][4] In Middle Dutch the verb is recorded from 1237 in Ghent, or 1240 according to the EWN, with the sense “cause to lie, put down, set”.^{[10][11][4][12]}

Semantic evolution

Over the centuries many spatial and figurative uses of leggen arose and disappeared, but the basic sense did not change.^[4] Middle Dutch has it for laying in the grave (1270), laying eggs (1270–1290), building walls round Rome (1285), putting money into a dike (1291) and putting someone in prison (1291).^[4] Its sense was wider than today's and often matched modern zetten, “set, place”; it could also mean “bury”.^[3] The noun leg “laying of eggs” was derived from it in Early Modern Dutch (1636).^[4]

The forms of leggen and liggen were confused early: in Holland leggen is still often said for liggen, and lag for legde.^[2][3] Lambert ten Kate complained that even scholars wrote leggen for liggen, and writers have since kept the two verbs apart.^[2] Sailors said het schip is blijven leggen for a ship that had not moved.^[13] In Belgium in stemming leggen “put to the vote” imitates French mettre aux voix.^[14]

The verb passed into the Dutch creoles as Negerhollands lee and leggen and Berbice Dutch lek, and into Sranan Tongo as lege “lay eggs”.^[15][1] Afrikaans has lê.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – Old Dutch geleget “laid” is recorded, in Egmond.^[9][4]
• 1237 – Middle Dutch leggen is first recorded, in Ghent.^[10][11]
• 1240 – The EWN and Van der Sijs date the first record of “cause to lie”.^[4][12]
• 1270–1290 – Eie gelegt “eggs laid” is recorded.^[4]
• 1291 – Legghen in vancnesse “put in prison” is recorded.^[4]
• 1321 – Leggen is used for burying.^[3]
• 1636 – The noun leg “laying of eggs” is first recorded.^[4]
• 1681 – Sailors' leggen “lie still”, of a ship, is recorded.^[13]

Meanings

Verb

1. Of animals: to lay an egg.^[16][1]
2. To put something so that it lies, to lay down.^[16][1][17]
3. To place, apply something somewhere: de nadruk op iets leggen.^[16]
4. To create, set up something: een rookgordijn leggen “put up a smokescreen”.^[16]
5. To put into a given state: iets in de as leggen “burn something down”.^[16]
6. (Holland, colloquial) To lie; a form of liggen.^[1][2]

Word family

• legger
• leggeld
• aanleggen
• afleggen
• beleggen
• bijleggen
• blootleggen
• droogleggen
• inleggen
• klaarleggen
• leg
• legbatterij
• legpuzzel
• legsel
• neerleggen

Related words

• liggen
• English lay
• German legen

Usage notes

Het zal hem geen windeieren leggen means that he will profit a good deal from it.^[16] Er een knoop op leggen was to confirm what one had said with an oath.^[18] In Belgium in stemming leggen is used where the Netherlands has in stemming brengen.^[14]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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
3. ^ a b c d Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
6. ^ Veen, P. A. F. van; Sijs, Nicoline van der (1997), Etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van onze woorden, 2nd ed., Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Lexicografie
7. ^ a b Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
8. ^ Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
9. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
10. ^ a b 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
11. ^ a b Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 223
12. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
13. ^ a b Winschoten, Wigardus à (1681), Seeman: behelsende een grondige uitlegging van de Neederlandse konst- en spreekwoorden, voor soo veel die uit de seevaart sijn ontleend, Leiden
14. ^ a b Vreese, Willem de (1899), Gallicismen in het Zuidnederlandsch, Gent: Siffer
15. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
16. ^ a b c d e f Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
17. ^ Algemeen Nederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; anw.ivdnt.org
18. ^ Stoett, F. A. (1923–1925), Nederlandsche spreekwoorden, spreekwijzen, uitdrukkingen en gezegden, 4th ed., 3 vols., Zutphen: Thieme