Etymologically
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niemand

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈni.mɑnt/[1]

Forms

niemand (genitive niemands)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch nieman, inherited from Old Dutch nieman, formed from the Germanic negative particle *ne (“not”) (see nee) and the word that became iemand.[2][3][4][1] The ONW and the older dictionaries analyse it as ne, io (“ever”) and man (“person”), literally “never a person”.[3][5][6] The same compound is Old Saxon neoman, Old High German nioman (modern German niemand) and Old Frisian nammon (modern West Frisian nimmen).[2][7][8]

The final ⟨d⟩ is secondary and came in during the Middle Dutch period, as in the positive pronoun: beside ⟨nieman⟩ and ⟨niemen⟩ the 13th century has ⟨niement⟩ (1271–1272) and ⟨niemant⟩ (1292).[2][3][9] Germanic *ne continues Proto-Indo-European *ne (“not”), the negation also found in Sanskrit न (ná, “not”), Lithuanian nè (“not”) and the Latin prefix ne-.[10][11][1] Middle Dutch also had a synonym gieman, used into the 17th century, which Heeroma explained from a form ⟨*nih-eo-man⟩.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The oldest record is in the Egmond Williram of about 1100: Thich neminnot nieman, “nobody loves you”.[2][3] Middle Dutch niman first appears around 1200 in Limburg, in so ne durste niman da bestan, “so nobody dared to stand there”.[4][12]

Semantic evolution

Old and Middle Dutch put a second negative beside nieman, first ne or en, later niet; the Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal noted in 1911 that the use of niet survived in only one construction.[4][5][6] The old object forms niemene and niemanden have gone, but the genitive lives on in niemands and in niemandsland.[6][5]

As early as the 16th century the word appears in proverbs: Niemandt hinckt van een ander mans zeerte, “nobody limps from another man's sore” (1557).[6] In jest it was used as a noun for a person without character of their own, as in an 1857 verse that ends hij was niemand.[6] Niemand minder dan, “none other than”, is probably modelled on niets minder dan.[6][13] Medieval Flanders even knew a comic Sente Niemant, “Saint Nobody”, the culprit no one could find.[5] The word lives on in Afrikaans niemand.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – Old Dutch nieman in the Egmond Williram.[2][3]
  • c. 1200 – Middle Dutch niman in Limburg.[4][12]
  • 1254 – Niemene in a Middelburg town law.[2]
  • 1271–1272 – The form niement appears.[2][9]
  • 1292 – The form niemant, with final ⟨t⟩.[2]
  • 1557 – The proverb niemandt hinckt van een ander mans zeerte.[6]

Meanings

Pronoun

  1. nobody, no one, not a single person.[13][14][1]
  2. Niemand minder dan: none other than, that very person.[13][6]

Word family

  • niemandsland

Usage notes

Niemand is onvervangbaar, “nobody is irreplaceable”, is said of someone who thinks they cannot be done without.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 e Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
  4. ^ a b c d 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
  5. ^ a b c d Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ a b Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  8. ^ Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  11. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  12. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  13. ^ a b c d Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  14. ^ Algemeen Nederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; anw.ivdnt.org