naar

naar¹ to, towards

Pronunciation

• /naːr/^[1]

Forms

naar (preposition, conjunction)^[1] Middle Dutch also wrote nare and naren.^[2]

Etymology

The preposition meaning “to, towards” is inherited from Middle Dutch naer, inherited from Old Dutch *nār, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *nāhuriʀ, inherited from Proto-Germanic *nēhwiz.^[3][1] It was at first the comparative of na “near”, so it meant “nearer”.^[3][4][1] The same comparative is Old Saxon nāhor, Old High German nāhōr (modern German näher), Old Frisian nīar, Old English nēar (modern English near), Old Norse nær and Gothic 𐌽𐌴𐍈𐌹𐍃 (nēhwis), all meaning “nearer”; the EWN traces them to Proto-Germanic comparatives in ⟨*-ōz-⟩ and ⟨*-iz⟩ built on *nēhwa- (“near”).^[3][4][5]

Already in Middle Dutch the form was no longer felt as a comparative, and ⟨na⟩ and ⟨naer⟩ were nearly interchangeable.^[3][2] The Middle Dutch Dictionary even explains ⟨naer⟩ as ⟨na⟩ with an added ⟨-r⟩ like that of hier, daar and waar.^[2] A new comparative was later made from it: nader, from older ⟨naarder⟩, ⟨narer⟩.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is the comparative narre “nearer” in the Middle Dutch sermons of Saint Bernard (1240).^[3][6] As a preposition it appears in a Bruges charter of 1265, dated saterdaghes naer onser wrouwe daghe, on the Saturday after the feast of Our Lady.^[3][7]

Semantic evolution

In Middle Dutch naer meant “near”, “afterwards” and, in verre ende naer, “far and near, everywhere”.^[7][3] As a preposition it meant “after” in time, “according to” (from 1270, in a Ghent guild text) and “resembling”.^[7][3] From 1285 it also meant “towards”.^[7][3] The Middle Dutch Dictionary notes that in the sense “towards” it was still rare: the ordinary word was na, as in the 17th century.^[2] With verbs of motion the idea of nearness turned into that of approaching a point, and so into the preposition of direction; from the idea of following came “according to”.^[8] In the 16th century it also became a conjunction, “as”, a shortening of naar dat;^[3] naar men zegt means “as people say”.^[3]

The modern division of labour between na “after” and naar “to” was laid down by the 18th-century grammarian Huydecoper;^[8][3] Bilderdijk found it arbitrary, and in 1908 the WNT observed that speech ignored it, the north using only na and Flanders only naar.^[8][3] In the early 1980s naar iemand toe, and plain naar, came into fashion in the sense “towards, with regard to someone”.^[9]

Dutch carried the preposition to Asia and the Caribbean: Indonesian, Petjo and Javindo have naar, and Negerhollands and Papiamentu na;^[10][1] Sranan na may come from it too.^[10][1]

Timeline

• 1240 – The comparative narre “nearer” appears in the sermons of Saint Bernard.^[3][6]
• 1265 – Naer “after” dates a Bruges charter.^[3][7]
• 1270 – Naer “according to” is recorded in Ghent.^[7]
• 1285 – Naer “towards” is recorded: heathens coming naerre den tempel, to the temple.^[3]
• 1548 – Naer is used as a conjunction, “as”: naer Esayas screue, as Isaiah wrote.^[3][8]
• 1835 – De Jager credits Huydecoper with the rule that separates na and naar in writing.^[8]
• 1982 – Naar iemand toe “towards someone” is noted as a neologism.^[9]

Meanings

Preposition

1. to, towards: in the direction of a place or person: Volgende week verhuizen we naar Gent.^[1][8]
2. With verbs of looking, listening, longing or searching: at, for: Hij luistert naar de radio;^[8][1] ze verlangt naar de zomer.^[8][1]
3. According to, after, in accordance with: naar oud gebruik.^[1][7][8]
4. Of smell and taste: like, of: De kamer ruikt naar verf.^[7][8]
5. As the second part of a pronominal adverb: ernaar, waarnaar, hiernaar.^[8][11]

Conjunction

1. (formal) As, according to what: naar men zegt, as people say.^[3]

Word family

• naartoe
• naardien
• naarmate

naar² nasty

Pronunciation

• /naːr/^[1]

Forms

naar (comparative naarder, superlative naarst)^[1]

Etymology

The adjective meaning “nasty” is inherited from Middle Dutch naer, inherited from Old Dutch *naro (“narrow”), inherited from Proto-West Germanic *naru, inherited from Proto-Germanic *narwa- (“narrow, constricted”).^[3][1][12] The same adjective is Old Saxon naru, West Frisian near and Old English nearu (modern English narrow), all meaning “narrow, tight”.^[3][12] The mythological name Old Norse Nǫrr, properly an adjective “narrow”, and Old High German narwa (“scar”) (modern German Narbe) are also compared.^[4]

Kroonen calls it an “Ingvaeonic” adjective, possibly related to Latvian nārs (“clamp”), and reconstructs Proto-Indo-European *neh₂r-ú-.^[12] De Vries and Wiktionary connect it with a root Proto-Indo-European *(s)ner- (“to turn, twist, constrict”), also found in Lithuanian narỹs (“knot, gnarl”).^[4][1][13] Franck and Van Wijk thought the Lithuanian connection possible but not very convincing.^[14]

The original sense “narrow” is not recorded in Dutch, and Middle Dutch has the word only indirectly.^[3] Kiliaan in 1599 called ⟨naer⟩ Frisian, and the EWN considers it quite possible that the adjective was taken over from Frisian or Low German.^[3][8] The sense “dismal, frightening” can be compared with that of eng, which also once meant “narrow”.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Old Dutch the adjective survives only in the place name Naruthi, Naarden in North Holland, recorded in the 10th century in a list of the property of the church of Utrecht: an Naruthi thiu kirica endi kiricland, at Naarden the church and the church land.^[3][15][6] Middle Dutch has it only in the verb benaren “to press hard” and in the superlative naerriekenste, “worst-smelling”, used of an animal (1350–1400).^[3][14]

Semantic evolution

In Frisian the original sense “narrow” lives on, and in Frisian and Low German dialects the word is used of a tight chest.^[8] In Dutch, from the end of the 16th century, the adjective meant “frightening, gloomy”: Kiliaan glossed it in 1599 with Latin words for “weary, faint, weak”, and in the 17th century it described dark places, the night and ominous words.^[8][3] These uses have since gone out of the living language.^[8] In the 18th century it was said of people who looked unwell or were anxious and sad.^[8] From the 19th century it came to mean simply “unpleasant”, and of people “nasty, disagreeable”.^[8] The word became common mainly in the north of the Dutch language area.^[3]

Afrikaans naar passed into South African English.^[10][1]

Timeline

• 901–1000 – Naruthi, Naarden, is recorded, containing Old Dutch *naro “narrow”.^[3][15][6]
• 1350–1400 – The superlative naerriekenste “worst-smelling” appears.^[3][2]
• 1599 – Kiliaan records naer as a Frisian word.^[3][8]
• c. 1603 – Naere duisterheit, frightening darkness, is recorded.^[3]
• 1613 – De naere nacht, the dreadful night.^[8]
• 1782 – Naar is said of a person who looks ill.^[8]
• 1831 – Naar means simply “unpleasant”.^[8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. unpleasant, nasty, dismal: Het was een nare reis door de regen.^[16][1][11]
2. Of people: very disagreeable, mean: Doe niet zo naar tegen je broertje.^[16][8]
3. (predicative) queasy, unwell: Na de boottocht voelde ik me naar.^[16]
4. Frightening, eerie: een naar verhaal.^[1][8]
5. With a reflexive verb, intensifying: zich naar lachen, zich naar schrikken, zich naar zoeken, to laugh, be startled or search oneself sick.^[16]

Word family

• naargeestig
• naarheid
• naarling
• narigheid