Etymologically
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mevrouw

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Pronunciation

  • /məˈvrɑu̯/[1]

Forms

mevrouw f (plural mevrouwen, diminutive mevrouwtje n)[1] Middle Dutch has mevrouwe, mevrauwe and mervrauwe, and the older form mijnvrouwe.[2][3] Afrikaans has mevrou.[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch mevrouwe, from Middle Dutch mijn (“my”) + vrouwe (“lady, mistress”), from ⟨mijn vrouwe⟩ with the unstressed, shortened possessive.[3][4][5][2] It was used as a title for the lady of the land or another woman of rank, on the model of meneer from ⟨mijn heer⟩.[3] Its parts are the modern mijn and vrouw, and ⟨vrouwe⟩ originally meant “ruler, mistress”, then “noblewoman, lady”.[6] The Middle Dutch Dictionary compares French madame and mademoiselle.[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The phrase mine vrouwe die coninghinne “my lady the queen” is found in 1300–1325, and an mer vrouwen “to my mistress”, still with an inflected pronoun, in 1343–1344.[3] The fused title is first recorded in 1431–1436, in a record of a debt owed to mervrauwen van Ghistelle.[2][7][6]

Semantic evolution

In Middle Dutch noble or otherwise important women were called vrouwe;[3] mevrouw came into use later.[3] The Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal notes that the phrase literally meant “my mistress”: in a play by Everaert (1526) an apprentice calls his master's wife so, but early on mevrouwe became a title, the equivalent of madame.[8] In the 17th century mystical writings used it of the Virgin Mary.[8]

The title then spread down the social scale.[2][3] An ordinance of 1595 forbids vassals to have their wives called Me-vrouwe, and by 1906 in the northern Netherlands every married woman of somewhat genteel standing was mevrouw, where she would earlier have been juffrouw.[8] In the 20th century it became the usual title of any married woman, set against juffrouw for an unmarried one, and after the Second World War, when the distinction was dropped, the title of every adult woman.[3] In Belgium a married noblewoman was still mevrouw in the early 20th century, while other married women were madam.[8]

The word travelled with Dutch speakers: it was borrowed into Frisian as mefrou, into South African English as mevrou through Afrikaans, and into Indonesian, Javanese (mepro), several Malay varieties and Sranan Tongo (ifrow).[9]

Timeline

  • 1300–1325 – Mine vrouwe die coninghinne “my lady the queen” is recorded.[3]
  • 1431–1436 – The title is first recorded in the fused form mervrauwe.[2][7]
  • 1488 – Mevrauwe Marye is named in a grant of rights.[3]
  • 1526 – An apprentice in a play by Everaert calls his master's wife me vrouwe.[8]
  • 1566 – Me-Vrouwe is used to address a highborn woman.[8]
  • 1595 – An ordinance forbids vassals' wives to be called Me-vrouwe.[8][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. madam, the polite title and form of address for a woman: Goedemiddag, mevrouw, kan ik u helpen?[10][1]
  2. (historical) The title of a noblewoman or a woman of high rank.[8][3]

Word family

  • mevrouwtje

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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
  4. ^ Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  5. ^ Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  6. ^ 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
  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 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
  9. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  10. ^ Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers