Etymologically
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meneer

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Pronunciation

  • /məˈneːr/[1]

Forms

meneer m (plural meneren, diminutive meneertje n)[1] The older written form mijnheer long remained usual in formal address;[2][3] menheer and meheer are also found.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch mijnhere, from Middle Dutch mijn (“my”) + here (“lord, master”), a combination of mijn and heer used as the title of the ruler of a land or of another man of rank.[2][4][1] The combination was already felt as one word in the 13th century: a text of 1291 has ⟨bi mijn here diedrike⟩ with an uninflected ⟨mijn⟩ in the dative instead of ⟨minen⟩.[2] Its unstressed first syllable was then weakened to /ə/, as the late Middle Dutch spelling ⟨men heer⟩ (1432) shows.[2] The spelling ⟨meneer⟩ came into use in the 19th century for “a (respectable) man”;[2][4] Van Veen and Van der Sijs date ⟨men heer⟩ to 1669 and ⟨meneer⟩ to 1871, and the Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal quotes ⟨Meneer⟩ from 1840.[2][4]

The formation is like that of English milord, and French monsieur is a parallel the Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal compares.[1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The oldest record is mijn her berthoude, “my lord Bertoud”, in 1271–1272, a title before a name.[2][5] An allegory of 1350–1400 has mijnheer Melancolie, and in 1432 men heer Everaerde is a knight.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The title was given first to the lord of the land and then to other men of high rank, and gradually to men of lower standing.[3] In 1732 Van Effen described how Monsieur and Seigneur were divided among shopkeepers, surgeons, notaries and merchants, and later writers found that everyone a little above the rabble was addressed as mynheer.[3] The word kept a sense of distance: in 1807 a woman drops the “stiff” Mijn Heer as she grows closer to a man.[3]

From the 19th century the word is also a common noun: in 1896 een meneer is simply “a gentleman”.[2] The plural is mijne heren in formal address and meneren in everyday use.[3][1]

Dutch lent the word to Indonesian and Javanese (Indonesian menir), to Manado, Ambonese and other varieties of Malay (menèr), to Papiamentu (Papiamentu mener, also “you”) and to Sranan Tongo (mineri), and Afrikaans has meneer.[7][1]

Timeline

  • 1271–1272 – Middle Dutch mijn her as a title before a name.[2][5]
  • 1291 – Bi mijn here diedrike, with uninflected mijn.[2]
  • 1350–1400 – Mijnheer Melancolie in an allegory.[2][6]
  • 1432 – The reduced spelling men heer.[2]
  • 1840 – Meneer in a quotation in the Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal.[2]
  • 1896 – Een meneer as a common noun, “a gentleman”.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. sir, mister: a polite title and form of address for a man: goedemiddag, meneer;[8][1][9] meneer Jansen.[8][1][9]
  2. A man, especially a respectable or well-dressed one: er staat een meneer aan de deur.[2][9]

Usage notes

Een grote meneer is a man who thinks a lot of himself, and the saying de krant is een meneer warns that a newspaper is only one man's opinion.[8] In the dialect of Maastricht meneer is a separate word meaning “manner, way of acting”, from Middle Dutch maniere (1236), borrowed from French manière.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 q 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 d e f g 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
  4. ^ a b c Veen, P. A. F. van; Sijs, Nicoline van der (1997), Etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van onze woorden, 2nd ed., Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Lexicografie
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  7. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  8. ^ a b c Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  9. ^ a b c WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org
  10. ^ Aarts, Flor (2017), Etymologisch dictionairke vaan 't Mestreechs, Maastricht