Etymologically
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liggen

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈlɪɣə(n)/, [ˈlɪɣən], [ˈlɪɣø̜][1]
  • East, North: /ˈlɪxŋ̍/, [ˈlɪχɴ̩][1]

Forms

liggen[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch liggen, inherited from Old Dutch liggen, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *liggjan, inherited from Proto-Germanic *ligjaną (“to lie”), from older *legjan-.[2][1][3] The same verb is Old Saxon liggian, Old High German liggen (modern German liegen), Old Frisian lidza (modern West Frisian lizze), Old English licgan (modern English lie) and Old Norse liggja (modern Swedish ligga); Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌲𐌰𐌽 (ligan) has no ⟨j⟩ in the present.[2][4][5][3] Its causative is leggen, “to cause to lie”.[2][4]

The root is Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie”), with the present *legʰ-ye- in Kroonen's reconstruction.[2][3][1] Outside Germanic it gave Ancient Greek λέχος (lékhos, “bed”), Latin lectus (“bed”), Russian лежать (ležatʹ, “to lie”), Old Irish laigid (“lies”) and lige (“bed, grave”), and Tocharian B lyaśäṃ (“lies”).[2][4][5] Dutch words of the same root are leger “camp, lair”, laag (as in hinderlaag “ambush”), and gelag.[2][4]

In Middle Dutch the second and third person singular ⟨liges⟩, ⟨liget⟩ became ⟨leges⟩, ⟨leget⟩, with the short vowel lengthened in an open syllable, and so fell together with the forms of the causative; in western dialects both verbs had ⟨leit⟩, so that in Holland they merged into one verb with strong and weak forms.[2][6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The oldest records are in the Egmond Williram of about 1100, where the pillars on which a disc lay were of silver (thar the disk upha lagh), and in a text of 1151 from Werden about Lazarus, who lay at the rich man's door.[2][8][9] In Middle Dutch the verb appears in 1223 in a Ghent charter, of land that lies (leghet) at Rosenbroch, and a Limburg word list of 1240 glosses Latin jacere “to lie” with liggen.[2][10]

Semantic evolution

Middle Dutch already used the verb for lying in bed, especially when ill, for staying or lodging somewhere, for being held as a hostage and for having sex with someone (bi enen licghen).[10][7] With ende and another verb it marked a lasting action, as in lach ende sliep (1340), the source of the modern liggen te + infinitive, “to be (lying) doing”.[7][1]

The merger of liggen and leggen in the western dialects means that the modern distinction is partly artificial: it was restored by the translators of the States Bible (1637) and by grammarians such as Ampzing (1628) and Huydecoper (1730), and was settled only by Weiland's grammar of 1805.[2] In the 20th century two uses came in from German: de zaak ligt anders, “the matter stands differently”, from the 1930s, and dat ligt hem niet, “that does not suit him”, from the 1940s, both first rejected by purists.[11][12]

The verb survives as Afrikaans lê and Negerhollands lee, and Papiamentu lèg means to take a nap lying down.[13][1]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – Old Dutch lagh “lay” in the Egmond Williram.[2][8][9]
  • 1223 – Middle Dutch leghet “lies”, of land, in a Ghent charter.[2][10]
  • 1240 – Liggen glosses Latin jacere.[2][10]
  • 1283 – The infinitive used as a noun for being held as a hostage, at Dordrecht.[10]
  • 1637 – The States Bible keeps liggen and leggen apart.[2]
  • 1805 – Weiland's grammar fixes the distinction in the standard language.[2]
  • 1940s – Dat ligt hem niet “that does not suit him”, after German.[11][12]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To lie, to rest in a horizontal position on a surface: de kat ligt op de bank.[14][1]
  2. To be situated, to be located: het dorp ligt aan een rivier.[14][1][15]
  3. To be in a given state: krom liggen van het lachen, to be doubled up with laughter.[14]
  4. Of things: to lie unused: liggend geld, money that earns no interest.[14]
  5. (auxiliary, with te) Forming a continuous aspect: hij ligt te slapen.[1][15]
  6. (transitive) To suit someone's character or ability: dat werk ligt haar niet.[14][1][11]

Word family

  • gelegen
  • ligging
  • ligger
  • dwarsligger
  • ligplaats
  • ligstoel
  • beliggen
  • bijliggen
  • dwarsliggen
  • neerliggen
  • openliggen
  • stilliggen
  • voorliggen

Usage notes

In western dialects, especially in Holland, liggen and leggen are still confused.[6][2] Het ligt mij op de leden meant “I have a foreboding of it”, with Flemish variants such as ik had het in mijn leên.[16] Onder de aarde liggen is to be dead and buried.[14] In Flanders ge moest al lang op het kerkhof liggen! is a curse.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 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 Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  5. ^ a b Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  6. ^ a b Haeringen, C. B. van (1936), Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal: Supplement, 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  7. ^ a b c Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
  8. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
  9. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  10. ^ a b c d e 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 c Theissen, Siegfried (1978), Germanismen in het Nederlands, Hasselt
  12. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2005), Groot leenwoordenboek, Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale
  13. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  14. ^ a b c d e f Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  15. ^ a b WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org
  16. ^ Stoett, F. A. (1923–1925), Nederlandsche spreekwoorden, spreekwijzen, uitdrukkingen en gezegden, 4th ed., 3 vols., Zutphen: Thieme
  17. ^ Sterkenburg, P. G. J. van (2001), Vloeken: een cultuurbepaalde reactie op woede, irritatie en frustratie, 2nd ed., Den Haag: Sdu