lid

lid¹ member, limb

Pronunciation

• /lɪt/^[1]

Forms

lid n (plural leden or (obsolete) leen or (obsolete) lee, diminutive lidje n or ledeken n)^[1]

Etymology

The word for the limb is inherited from Middle Dutch lit, inherited from Old Dutch *lid, inherited from Proto-Germanic *liþuz.^[2][1] The same word is Old Saxon lið, Old High German lid (beside gilid, whence modern German Glied), Old Frisian lith, Old English liþ, Old Norse liðr and Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌸𐌿𐍃 (liþus), all meaning “joint, limb, part of a whole”.^[2][3][4] The stem vowel /u/ survives in West Germanic compounds such as lidostarc and lithuwastom.^[5][6] Beside it stands Proto-Germanic *limu-, with the same meaning and the same initial sound, in lim (whence English limb) and limr.^[2][3]

Its further origin is unclear, and there are no certain cognates outside Germanic.^[2] Both Germanic forms probably arose by assimilation.^[2] Kroonen derives them from a root *lei- shared with Baltic, comparing Lithuanian liemuō (“trunk, body”).^[3] The EWN rejects a link with Latin lituus (“curved staff, war trumpet”), probably an Etruscan loan, and a reconstruction Proto-Indo-European *h₁l-e(i)-tu- from Proto-Indo-European *h₁el- (“bent”), on phonological and morphological grounds.^[2] De Vries derived it from a root “to bend” and related it to lenig and ledig.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Middle Dutch leet “joint”, let, leet “part of the body” and the plural lede “joints, limbs” are all first recorded in 1240.^[2] By 1285 let also meant the male or female sexual organ, as in besneet hi sijn manlike let “he circumcised his male member”, and “generation”, in altote in dat vierde let “until the fourth generation”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The sense “member of a society, fellow” appears in Middle Dutch, in jeghen sine lede “against his fellow members” (1300–1325) and der heileger kerken let “member of the holy church” (early 14th century).^[2] Early Modern Dutch extended it to a part of a larger body: in 1548 the Burgundian realm is a lidt of the Roman Empire, in 1646 someone is a lidt van 't heir “part of the army”, and in 1660 a lid is a section of a text.^[2][7] Several of these uses translate Latin membrum or articulus rather than growing out of Germanic usage.^[7] Een lid der familie follows in 1785.^[2]

The sense of a member of a group is now the main one, and the old senses “joint, limb” survive mostly in fixed phrases: lijf en leden “the whole body”, uit het lid “out of joint”, het mannelijk lid “the penis”.^[2][8] Iets onder de leden hebben, “to be carrying an illness that has not yet broken out”, goes back to the Middle Ages, with leden meaning the whole body.^[9] In Antwerp and Flanders the usual form is lit or let, and lid with its plural leden is used only in senses taken from the standard language.^[7]

Borrowings follow the main sense: Indonesian lid “member”, Javanese elid “member of a court or committee”, Swedish led, and Negerhollands leeden “limbs”.^[10][1]

Timeline

• 1240 – Middle Dutch leet, let “joint, limb” is first recorded.^[2]
• 1285 – The senses “sexual organ” and “generation” are recorded.^[2]
• 1300–1325 – Lede means “fellow members” of a group.^[2]
• 1530 – In zyn mannelic let wiert hy besneden “he was circumcised in his male member”.^[7][11]
• 1548 – The Burgundian realm is called a lidt of the Roman Empire.^[2]
• 1660 – Lid is used for a section of a text.^[2]
• 1785 – Een lid der familie “a member of the family” is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A member, someone who belongs to a group, association or organisation.^[8][1][12]
2. A part of a whole made up of several parts.^[8]
3. A limb, a movable part of the body of a person or animal.^[8][1]
4. (formal) The penis.^[8][1]
5. A joint.^[8]
6. (biology) The part of a plant stem between two nodes, an internode.^[8][12]
7. (law) A subsection of an article of a law.^[8][1]

Word family

• lidmaat
• lidwoord
• ledemaat
• ledenpop
• gelid
• geleed
• volledig
• ontleden
• ledebreken
• leewater
• leewieken
• lidrus
• erelid
• kamerlid
• raadslid
• gemeenteraadslid
• kaderlid
• baarlid

lid² lid, cover

Etymology tree of lid²

inherited borrowed derived

Proto-West Germanic *hlid

Dutch lid

Pronunciation

• /lɪt/^[1]

Forms

lid n (plural leden, diminutive lidje n)^[1]

Etymology

The word for the cover is inherited from Middle Dutch lit, inherited from Old Dutch *lid, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *hlid, inherited from Proto-Germanic *hlidą.^[2][1] The same word is Middle Low German lit (“lid, eyelid, window shutter, stall”), Old High German hlit (“lid”) (modern German Lid, only “eyelid”), Old Frisian hlid (“lid, eyelid”), Old English hlid (“lid, covering, roof, door”), whence English lid, and Old Norse hlið (“opening, door”).^[2][6] The EWN derives the noun from a verb, *hlīdan-, found in Old Saxon bihlīdan (“to enclose, cover”) and behlīdan (“to cover, close”) but not in Dutch.^[2]

Its further origin is uncertain.^[2] The EWN mentions a reconstruction Proto-Indo-European *ḱlito-, usually taken as a derivative of the root Proto-Indo-European *ḱlei- of leunen, “covering” then growing out of “leaning on something”, and a link with helen² “to cover”, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel-.^[2] Against both stands the lack of any trace of the /t/ outside Germanic.^[2] De Vries compared Old Irish cliath (“wickerwork, hurdle”) and Welsh clwyd (“hurdle, barrier”), and with Trier thought of a basic sense “wickerwork”.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Middle Dutch let first appears in 1287 in the compound oghe let “eyelid”, with the plural oghe lede.^[2] The simple word for a cover is recorded around 1424 in elc eest sel hebben een lit “every oven shall have a lid”.^[2][13]

Semantic evolution

Early Modern Dutch has der kannen lidt “the lid of the jug” in 1607.^[2] The general sense “cover” was never very common in Dutch, and it survives in the saying die het onderste uit de kan wil hebben, krijgt het lid op de neus “whoever wants the last drop from the jug gets the lid on his nose”, said of greed that loses everything.^[2][9] Stoett explains it from drinking out of pewter jugs with lids, which fell on the drinker's nose when he tipped the jug too far.^[9] The saying is mainly Dutch of the Netherlands, and deksel often replaces lid in it.^[2] Elsewhere lid “cover” lives on only in dialects of the north and east.^[2] A main cause of its loss was the clash with lid “member”.^[2][6]

Timeline

• 1287 – Oghe let “eyelid” is first recorded.^[2]
• c. 1424 – Lit “lid” of an oven is recorded.^[2][13]
• 1607 – Der kannen lidt “the lid of the jug” is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (rare) A lid, a cover.^[1][12]
2. An eyelid.^[12]

Word family

• ooglid