Etymologically
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mooi

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Pronunciation

Forms

mooi (comparative mooier, superlative mooist)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch moy (also mooy), inherited from Old Dutch mōi, a word of unknown origin.[2][1][3] Outside Dutch it is found only in Middle Low German, which has Middle Low German moie according to De Vries and Franck–Van Wijk and only the derivative mojerdie (“finery, foolery”) according to the EWN; modern West Frisian moai and Low German moi were probably borrowed from Dutch.[2][4][3] All the Old and Middle Dutch records come from the southwest, from Zeeland and East and West Flanders.[2]

De Vries starts from a Germanic ⟨*mauja-⟩ and links it with modder, explaining the meaning from “washed, clean” and earlier “wetted”, and compares Latin mundus (“clean, neat”).[4] Wiktionary follows this with Proto-West Germanic *mauwī (“clean, washed”).[1] In De Vries & De Tollenaere a comparison with words for washing is called doubtful for so local a word.[5] A borrowing of Spanish muy (“very”) was proposed in 1931, but the EWN finds it very unlikely given the age of the Dutch word; it thinks the word was probably borrowed, from an unknown and perhaps pre-Indo-European language.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word first appears in the byname of Olricus Moye in 1153.[2][6] The derivative moyaert “show-off” follows as the byname of Henric Moiard (1288), and a field at Assenede called de moihe (1290) and Arnout de moi of Oudenaarde (1291) may show the adjective itself.[2][7] It is first certain in a text of 1300–1325, of a wife die moye was “who was beautiful”.[2]

Semantic evolution

In Middle Dutch the word mostly meant “finely dressed, smart”, often with a hint of vanity: waer omme cleetstu di zo moy “why do you dress so finely?” (1350–1400).[2][8] The MNW notes that it was sometimes paired with scone and only gradually took on that word's meaning “beautiful”, until it had all but replaced schoon in that sense in the spoken language of the north; in the written language, the MNW wrote, it had only lately come into use through the newest literary movement.[8] In the south the opposite happened: except in French Flanders the dialects use schoon.[2][9] The old sense lives on in zich mooi maken “to dress up”, recorded from 1663.[9]

Used of the weather, mooi entered German sailors' speech, recorded from 1747.[4] Ironic uses are old: in 1907 someone who has broken an arm is zes weken mooi mee “will be stuck with it for six weeks”.[9] Mooi dat …, meaning “sure enough …”, and mooi niet! “certainly not!” were noted as new in the early 1980s.[10][11] Aap, wat heb je mooie jongen!, said of flattering someone one fears, comes from the beast epic of Reynard the Fox.[12]

The word spread far: Frisian moai, North Frisian mooi, Scots moy (obsolete), Danish moj (obsolete) and Swedish moj “light (of wind)”, Negerhollands, Berbice and Skepi Dutch, Sranan Tongo moi, Saramaccan moi “soft”, and, through Afrikaans mooi, South African English.[13][1]

Timeline

  • 1153 – The byname Olricus Moye.[2][6]
  • 1288 – Moyaert “show-off” as a byname.[2][7]
  • 1290 – The field name de moihe at Assenede.[7]
  • 1300–1325 – First certain use as an adjective, “beautiful”.[2]
  • 1350 – Moy “fair, pretty” in the MNW's quotations.[14][15]
  • 1598 – Moy clare lucht “fine clear sky”.[2][9]
  • 1747 – German sailors' moy, of the weather.[4]
  • 1981 – Mooi dat … “sure enough …” noted as new.[10]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. beautiful, pretty, pleasant to look at or listen to: Wat een mooi schilderij![11][1][16]
  2. Fine, excellent, good: Hij heeft een mooie baan gevonden.[11][1]
  3. (ironic) Nice, fine, meaning the opposite: Dat is een mooie boel.[11][16]
  4. Favourable, advantageous: Dat is mooi meegenomen.[11]
  5. Considerable, quite a lot of: een mooi bedrag.[11]

Adverb

  1. Nicely, well: Ze zingt mooi.[11][1]
  2. (colloquial) Quite, thoroughly, adding dismay or emphasis: Nu zit je mooi in de problemen.[16][11]

Word family

  • bloedmooi
  • mooiboy
  • mooiheid

Usage notes

Mooi niet! means “certainly not!”, and het is mooi geweest “that's enough”.[11][10] In Surinamese Dutch mooi groeten is to greet politely.[17]

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 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 Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  4. ^ a b c d Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  5. ^ Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 254
  6. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ a b Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ a b c Reinsma, R. (1984), Neologismen, Utrecht: Spectrum
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  12. ^ Stoett, F. A. (1923–1925), Nederlandsche spreekwoorden, spreekwijzen, uitdrukkingen en gezegden, 4th ed., 3 vols., Zutphen: Thieme
  13. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  14. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  15. ^ Veen, P. A. F. van; Sijs, Nicoline van der (1997), Etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van onze woorden, 2nd ed., Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Lexicografie
  16. ^ a b c WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org
  17. ^ Donselaar, J. van (1989), Woordenboek van het Surinaams-Nederlands, Muiderberg: Coutinho