lijken

Forms

lijken^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch liken, a form without the prefix of geliken (“to resemble”), the verb that survives as gelijken.^[2][3][1] That verb is inherited from Old Dutch *gilīkon, inherited from Proto-Germanic *galīkōną (“to be like”), made from the adjective *galīkaz (“like”), the ancestor of gelijk.^[1][2]

Why the prefix was lost is disputed.^[2][4] Van Veen and De Vries see a Frisian-coloured Holland form, from dialects that tended to drop ⟨ge-⟩.^[3][2] The Etymologisch woordenboek van het Nederlands notes that the prefix also fell away in other dialects, so that the verb may instead have been made from, or shaped by, the adjective and adverb lijk “like”; a strong verb is then unexpected, but weak verbs often became strong.^[2] The Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal also prefers derivation from that adjective.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The verb with the prefix, Middle Dutch geliken “to resemble”, is recorded in 1240, and ghelijct “resembles” in 1277.^[2] The short form liken in this sense first appears around 1450, and lijcken “to look like” in a text of 1470–1490.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

At first the verb took a dative: the person or thing resembled stood in that case, as with German gleichen today, and Vondel could still write wien lijckt dat “whom does that resemble” in 1640.^[2][4] When the case endings wore away, the dative could be taken for a subject, and the verb came to mean “to seem”: Vondel's Hy lijckt een sant (1630) is “he seems a saint”.^[2][4] With an adjective it became a linking verb, as early as 1591 in Hy lijckt wel rijck “he looks rich indeed”.^[2] The old sense “to resemble” is now expressed with lijken op.^[2][6]

Seventeenth-century Dutch said that something lijkt wat when it looked important, usually with a hint of deception (1663), and in 1784 het lijkt wel niets meant “it is no good at all”.^[4] The Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal noted in 1918 that the verb was little used in the popular speech of the southern Netherlands.^[4] In Surinamese Dutch lijken can mean “to show off”.^[7]

Timeline

• 1240 – Middle Dutch geliken “to resemble”.^[2]
• 1277 – Ghelijct “resembles”.^[2]
• c. 1450 – The short form liken “to resemble”.^[5]
• 1591 – Hy lijckt wel rijck, the linking use with an adjective.^[2]
• 1630 – Vondel's Hy lijckt een sant “he seems a saint”.^[2]
• 1663 – Iets lijken “to look like something of importance”.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. To resemble, to look like, usually with op: Ze lijkt sprekend op haar moeder.^[6][1]
2. To seem, to appear: Het lijkt hier wel een bouwplaats.^[6][1]
3. To appeal to, to suit: Dat lijkt me een goed plan.^[6][8]

Related words

• gelijk
• gelijken
• German gleichen

Usage notes

An archaic lijken “to please” is a separate verb: Middle Dutch liken in this sense is found in Brabant in 1265, Old Dutch līcon in the Wachtendonck Psalms, from Proto-Germanic *līkāną, the same verb as English like and Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽 (leikan).^{[9][10][1][11]} Sailors use a transitive lijken “to sew a bolt rope to a sail”, from lijk in the sense of that rope, and Russian borrowed it.^[6][12] A weak lijken “to make even”, used of dikes and of stones, and by West Flemish cobblers for polishing, is recorded too.^[4][13]

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 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 Veen, P. A. F. van; Sijs, Nicoline van der (1997), Etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van onze woorden, 2nd ed., Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Lexicografie
4. ^ a b c d e f g h 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
5. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
6. ^ a b c d e Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
7. ^ Donselaar, J. van (1989), Woordenboek van het Surinaams-Nederlands, Muiderberg: Coutinho
8. ^ WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org
9. ^ 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
10. ^ Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
11. ^ Vercoullie, Jozef (1925), Beknopt etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 3rd ed., 's-Gravenhage / Gent: Nijhoff / Van Rysselberghe & Rombaut
12. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
13. ^ Debrabandere, Frans (2002), West-Vlaams etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van de West-Vlaamse woorden, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Atlas