nee

Forms

nee^[1] Older and formal form: neen.^[1][2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch neen (also nee), inherited from Old Dutch nēn (“none, not one”), inherited from Proto-Germanic *ne ainan (“not one, nothing”), a fusion of the negative particle *ne (“not”) and the numeral that became een.^[2][1][3] The word was thus at first a pronoun, and it became an interjection in continental West Germanic.^[2] The Old Dutch dictionary notes other analyses: Holthausen started from a form with ⟨nio⟩, Schützeichel from ⟨nih(h)ein⟩, and the more usual Old Dutch form was nehēn.^[3]

The same interjection is Old Saxon nēn, Old High German nein (modern German nein) and Old Frisian nē (modern West Frisian nee); the pronoun “not one” is nān, Old English nān (modern English none) and Old Norse neinn.^[2][4] Latin nōn (“not”), from Old Latin noenum, was formed in the same way from “not one”.^[2][5][6]

The particle continues Proto-Indo-European *ne (“not”), as do Sanskrit न (ná), Old Church Slavonic не (ne), Lithuanian nè and Hittite natta (“not”).^[2][7][4] It is still seen in tenzij, nergens, niemand, niet and nooit, and in Old and Middle Dutch it was very common as ⟨ne⟩, ⟨en⟩ or ⟨n⟩, mostly with another negative word;^[2] West Flemish keeps this double negation, as in “ik en ga niet mee” “I am not coming”.^[2] The zero grade gave the prefix on-.^[2]

The original form is ⟨neen⟩; speech dropped the final /n/, though Paul admitted it is not clear how.^[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old Dutch nēn is a pronoun, “none”, in the Leiden Willeram of about 1100.^[3] The first record of the interjection is in a Lower Rhine text of 1220–40, mer hine seide nien noch ia “but he said neither no nor yes”, that is, he kept silent.^[2][8] The Limburg glossary of 1240 renders Latin non and minime with neen.^[8]

Semantic evolution

Middle Dutch often joined a pronoun to the word, as in nenic niet “no, I don't” and neen hi niet “no, he isn't”, both from about 1260.^[8] The habit lived on: neens, from neen si, and jaas were still said in Flanders in 1911.^[6] Neen zeggen came to mean “to refuse, deny”.^[6]

The short form nee is found from 1350, but in written Middle Dutch and Early Modern Dutch it stayed rare; its frequency rose only from the second half of the 19th century, and it is now by far the commoner form in speech, and in the Netherlands in writing too.^[2][9] The word passed into Negerhollands (neen, nēn), Berbice Dutch (nene), Sranan Tongo (ènèn, ne), and through Afrikaans into South African English.^[10][1]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – Old Dutch nēn “none” in the Leiden Willeram.^[3]
• 1220–40 – Nien noch ia “neither no nor yes” on the Lower Rhine.^[2][8]
• 1237 – Nen in a Ghent charter.^[9][11]
• 1240 – Neen for Latin non in the Limburg glossary Bernardus.^[2][8]
• 1340–60 – Nee ghi trouwen “no, you surely won't”.^[2]
• 1350 – The short form nee is recorded.^[9][11]
• 1644 – Nee Maetjen … niemant hoeft my te helpen “no, mate … nobody need help me”.^[2]
• 1839 – He nee! “oh no!”, a child's protest at bedtime.^[2]

Meanings

Interjection

1. no, expressing denial or refusal: Nee, dat wil ik niet.^[12][1][13]
2. Expressing surprise or indignation, as in nee maar! and o nee!.^[12]

Noun

1. (het) A no, a refusal.^[12]

Related words

• niet
• niemand
• nooit
• geen
• ja
• English no
• German nein

Usage notes

Nee heb je, ja kun je krijgen means that asking costs nothing, and nee verkopen is said of a shop that does not have something in stock.^[12]

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 Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
4. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill
5. ^ Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
6. ^ 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
7. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
8. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ a b c Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
10. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
11. ^ 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
12. ^ a b c d Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
13. ^ WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org