Etymologically
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met

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Pronunciation

  • /mɛt/, /mɛ/[1]

Forms

met[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch met, inherited from Old Dutch mit (earlier miþ), inherited from Proto-West Germanic *midi, inherited from Proto-Germanic *midi (“with”).[2][1][3][4] The preposition developed from the adverb that became modern mede, mee: the West Germanic adverbs kept their full form, while the less stressed prepositions were weakened, here by the loss of the final vowel, as with the adverb toe beside the preposition te.[2][5] The same word is Old Saxon mid, mith, Old High German mit (modern German mit), Old Frisian mith, Old English mid, Old Norse með and Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐌸 (miþ).[6][3]

Kroonen takes it to be an Indo-European adverb, originally a locative case form of a root noun Proto-Indo-European *met- or *medʰ-, related to Proto-Germanic *midja- (“middle”).[3] De Vries allows both Proto-Indo-European *medʰi and *meti, and compares Ancient Greek μετά (metá, “with, among, after”) and Sanskrit स्मत् (smát, “together”).[6][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old Dutch miþ is recorded in the Lex Salica of 551–750, and mit in the Wachtendonck Psalms of the 10th century.[2][4][7] The first Middle Dutch record is a Ghent byname of 1212–23, wouter metten bene “Wouter with the leg”.[2][8]

Semantic evolution

Following Delbrück, the Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal suggests that the oldest sense was “between, among”, close to “beside, at”, a sense still common in Middle Dutch; from it, or alongside it, came “together with”, the main sense of the modern word.[5] Middle Dutch already used met for the means, as in met sinen lettren “by his charter” (1236), and for a condition, as in people infected met den lazers “with leprosy”.[2][8]

In the older language met was also an adverb, “also, besides”, a use now left to mee.[8][5] In northern Dutch the sense “at, beside” is almost obsolete, but Belgian Dutch uses met where the north has bij, perhaps partly under the influence of French avec.[5] On the telephone met followed by a name is short for u spreekt met… “you are speaking with…”.[1]

The preposition passed into Negerhollands (met, mi), Berbice Dutch (mete) and Skepi Dutch.[9][1]

Timeline

  • 551–750 – Old Dutch miþ is recorded in the Lex Salica.[2][4]
  • 901–1000 – Mit in the Wachtendonck Psalms.[2][7]
  • 1212–23 – Middle Dutch metten bene “with the leg”, a byname in Ghent.[2][8]
  • 1236 – Met sinen lettren “by his charter”, for the means.[2]
  • 1265 – Met as an adverb, “also, besides”.[8]
  • 1905 – The Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal records samen met “together with”.[5]

Meanings

Preposition

  1. with, in the company of: Ze gaat met haar zus op vakantie.[10][1]
  2. Plus, adding: tot en met “up to and including”.[10]
  3. Of taking part or agreeing: Ik ben het met je eens.[10]
  4. Of mixing: koffie met melk.[10]
  5. Of a mutual action: Ze trouwde met een leraar.[10]
  6. Having, provided with: een huis met een tuin.[10]
  7. Of manner or an accompanying circumstance: met plezier.[10]
  8. By means of, using: met de trein.[10][1]
  9. At the same time as, at a festival: met Kerstmis.[10][1]
  10. Concerning, as for: Hoe is het met je moeder?[10]
  11. (telephone) Used to answer a call, followed by one's name.[1]

Word family

  • meteen
  • metterdaad
  • mettertijd
  • metterwoon
  • temet
  • mitsgaders

Usage notes

Two minor words share the spelling.[5][8] Met “minced pork”, a regional word of the eastern Netherlands (Veluwe, Achterhoek), continues Middle Dutch met “food” and survives in metworst; it is related to English meat and was borrowed into German as Mett.[10][5][11][1] Met “a land measure”, the same as gemet, was used mainly in Zeeland and is recorded from 1240.[8][12]

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 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 Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ a b Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  7. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  8. ^ a b c d e f g 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
  9. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  11. ^ Weijnen, A. A. (2003), Etymologisch dialectwoordenboek, 2nd ed., Den Haag: Sdu
  12. ^ Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org