Etymologically
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ooit

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Pronunciation

Forms

ooit[1] Middle Dutch also had ooint and oint, and ooint and oont were still used in the south in the 16th and 17th centuries.[2][3] Flemish dialects mostly say oont.[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch oit, a word found only in Dutch, whose origin is not settled.[4][3][5] It is usually explained as a compound whose first part is Proto-Germanic *aiw- (“always, ever”), which gave Old Dutch io and ie (see ieder).[4][5][6] The second part would be a particle that is the same as West Frisian jit (“still, yet”), Old Frisian ieta and Old English ġiet (modern English yet); the Old English construction ⟨æfre giet⟩ “ever yet” is syntactically exactly parallel.[4][6][5] The metre of the Life of Saint Lutgard shows that Middle Dutch still pronounced the word in two syllables, from an older ⟨*ôjit⟩.[6][2][7]

The ⟨oo-⟩ is the difficulty: it may come from a simplified vowel cluster in Old Dutch ⟨*io-(j)it⟩.[4][5] The Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal calls the origin unknown and allows that the forms with ⟨n⟩ may be the original ones.[3] Middle Dutch ⟨oit⟩ was a strengthened form of ⟨ie⟩, which later went out of use and was fully replaced by the modern word in Early Modern Dutch.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is first recorded in 1265–1270 in the Life of Saint Lutgard from Brabant, in the sense “always”: nv ende oit “now and for ever”.[4][8][9] In 1285 it already means “at some time (in the past)”, in leet dat mi oit gheviel “sorrow that ever befell me”.[4][8]

Semantic evolution

The meaning moved from “always” to “at some time”.[4] The old sense survived into the 16th and 17th centuries (ick hebbe v oyt gheacht, “I have always held you”, 1555), together with the reinforced pairs ooit en ooit and ooit en nog, but is now obsolete.[3][2] The usual modern sense “at any time” is found of the past from 1539 (dat ic oyt geboren was, “that I was ever born”) and of the future by 1635.[3] In the second half of the 20th century ooit began to take over from eens in sentences about a single moment.[4]

In the late 20th century journalists began to use ooit after a superlative, de warmste zomer ooit, a translation of English the … ever.[10] Dutch took the word abroad to West Frisian (West Frisian oait), Negerhollands, Berbice Creole Dutch and Sranan Tongo (Sranan Tongo oiti).[11][1]

Timeline

  • 1265–1270 – Middle Dutch oit “always” in the Life of Saint Lutgard.[4][9]
  • 1285 – Oit “at some time in the past”.[4][8]
  • 1539 – Oyt “ever” in a question about the past.[3]
  • 1635 – Oyt of the future: indien ick oyt sal komen tot de trou, “if I ever marry”.[3]
  • late 20th century – Ooit after a superlative, after English ever.[10]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. ever, at any time: heb jij ooit zoiets meegemaakt?[12][1]
  2. At some time in the future, someday: ooit wil ik daar wonen.[1][13]
  3. Once, at some time in the past.[1][13]
  4. After a superlative: of all time: de beste plaat ooit.[12][1]

Word family

  • ieder
  • English yet

Usage notes

Heb je ooit zoiets gezien? expresses surprise.[12] The use after a superlative is a loan translation of English the … ever.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c 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 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
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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
  5. ^ a b c d Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  6. ^ a b c Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  7. ^ Veen, P. A. F. van; Sijs, Nicoline van der (1997), Etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van onze woorden, 2nd ed., Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Lexicografie
  8. ^ 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
  9. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  10. ^ a b c Sijs, Nicoline van der (2005), Groot leenwoordenboek, Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale
  11. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  12. ^ a b c Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  13. ^ a b WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org