Etymologically
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mee

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Pronunciation

Forms

mee[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch mede, inherited from Old Dutch mithi, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *midi, inherited from Proto-Germanic *midi (“with, along”), which the EWN gives as ⟨*meda⟩ or ⟨*medi⟩.[2][1][3] The form ⟨mee⟩ arose from the older mede by the loss of ⟨d⟩ between vowels, as in ⟨kou⟩ beside koude.[2][1] The preposition met is a shorter form of the same word.[2][4][5]

The same word is Old Saxon midi, Old High German miti (modern German mit), Old Frisian mithi (modern West Frisian mei), Old English mid, Old Norse með and Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐌸 (miþ), all meaning “with”.[2][4] Outside Germanic it is related to Ancient Greek μετά (metá, “with, among, after”), Sanskrit स्मत् (smát, “together with”) and Avestan maṭ (“with”), from Proto-Indo-European *met(h₂)-.[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old Dutch mithi is first found around 1100 in the Leiden Willeram, meaning “also”: thar sint ouch mithe uirtuosi, “there are also virtuous ones”.[2][3] Middle Dutch mede appears in a Ghent text of 1236, and in 1253 in mede uaren, “to go along”.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

In Middle Dutch mede expressed company and shared action, presence (mede wesen, “to be there”) and agreement with someone.[4] It formed compounds early, such as mede porter, “fellow citizen”, in 1287, and the contracted mee is found from the 14th century.[2][4]

The two forms then divided the work: mee is the usual adverb and the usual first part of verbs (meegaan, meelopen, meewerken), while mede survives in formal use for “also” and in nouns and adjectives such as medewerker and medemens.[2][5][1] Metgezel, Middle Dutch medegheselle, is an isolated case.[2] From “along with” came the sense “in someone's favour”, as in having the wind mee at one's back.[7][5]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – Old Dutch mithi “also” in the Leiden Willeram.[2][3]
  • 1236 – Middle Dutch mede in Ghent.[2][6]
  • 1253 – Mede uaren “to go along”.[2]
  • 1287 – Mede porter “fellow citizen”.[2]
  • 14th century – The contracted form mee appears.[2][4]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. along, together with someone: Ga je mee naar de markt?[7][1]
  2. In the same direction: met de stroom mee zwemmen.[7]
  3. In someone's favour: Het weer zat ons die dag mee.[7]
  4. The adverbial form of met in pronominal adverbs such as ermee and waarmee.[7][1][8]

Adjective

  1. (predicative) Able to follow or keep up.[1]

Word family

  • meebetalen
  • meebewegen
  • meebrengen
  • meedoen
  • meegaan
  • meekijken
  • meelopen
  • meenemen
  • meerekenen
  • meerijden
  • meeroken
  • meestemmen
  • meetellen
  • meetorsen
  • meevoelen
  • mede
  • medewerker
  • medemens
  • metgezel

Usage notes

Mee is also a younger form of the noun mede “mead”, a drink made with honey, and of mede “madder”, a plant grown for its red dye, now usually meekrap.[5][4][6] In the south mee is a dialect word for “grandmother, old woman”, from meter “godmother”, Medieval Latin matrina.[9][10]

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 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 c Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
  4. ^ a b c d e f Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
  5. ^ a b c d 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
  6. ^ a b c 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
  7. ^ a b c d e Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  8. ^ WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org
  9. ^ Weijnen, A. A. (2003), Etymologisch dialectwoordenboek, 2nd ed., Den Haag: Sdu
  10. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2005), Groot leenwoordenboek, Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale