paar

Forms

paar n (plural paren, diminutive paartje n)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch paer, borrowed from Latin pār (“a pair; an equal”), the noun use of the adjective pār (“equal”), whose further origin is unknown.^[2][3][1] The same loan is Middle Low German pâr, Old High German pār (“equal”) and Middle High German pār (“pair”) (modern German Paar); the High German word shows that it was taken over after the High German consonant shift.^[4][5][6] Old Norse par came from Middle Low German.^[4][5]

English pair has a different source, French paire, from Latin pāria (“equal things”), the neuter plural of the same adjective; a rare Middle Dutch ⟨pâre⟩ may come from the French word.^[4][5] The vowel was lengthened before ⟨r⟩, as usual in Middle Dutch.^[7] The adjective “even (in number)” was formed from the noun, after French pair in ⟨pair ou impair⟩;^[5][6][8] Van Veen and Van der Sijs compare Middle Dutch pareren (“to belong with”).^[5][6][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The oldest record is from Bruges in 1270, in een par anscoen “a pair of gloves”: the first sense is two things that belong together.^[2][3] In 1278 a Ghent text records 25 pairs of shoes owed at All Saints, and in 1287 the word is used of a male and a female vulture.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

Already in the 13th century paer could mean a set of more than two, as in drie paer of clothes (1286) or beams, and a row, as in drie par tande “three rows of teeth” (1285).^[2][3] A team of two draught animals is recorded in 1291–1300, five yoke of oxen.^[2] Middle Dutch also used the word for one's equal or match, and for one of a mated couple, a man's wife or an animal's mate, senses the Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal calls obsolete.^[7][9] Een paer letteren was a single letter.^[7]

As an indefinite numeral, “a few”, paar appears in the 18th century: geen paar oortjes waard, “not worth a couple of farthings”, in 1732, and een paar uur wandelen in 1784.^[2][10] The verb paren “to join in pairs” dates from 1573, and “to mate” from 1634.^[2]

The noun was borrowed into Negerhollands, Sranan Tongo (Sranan Tongo par), Saramaccan, Surinamese Javanese, Manado and Ambonese Malay, where par is also a couple dancing together.^[11][1]

Timeline

• 1270 – Middle Dutch par in een par anscoen “a pair of gloves”, in Bruges.^[2][3]
• 1285 – Drie par tande “three rows of teeth”.^[2]
• 1287 – Een par ghiere, a male and a female vulture.^[2][3]
• 1573 – The verb paren “to join in pairs”.^[2]
• 1632 – The adjective paer “equal”.^[9]
• 1732 – Paar as an indefinite numeral: geen paar oortjes waard.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A pair: two things that belong together: twee paar sokken.^[12][1]
2. A couple: two people who belong together, such as lovers or a married couple: het bruidspaar.^[12][13]
3. (een paar) A few, a small number: over een paar weken.^[12][1]

Adjective

1. (predicative) even, of a number divisible by two.^[12][9]

Word family

• paren
• bruidspaar
• echtpaar
• danspaar
• paarsgewijs
• onpaar

Related words

• English pair
• German Paar

Usage notes

Dat is een ander paar mouwen means “that is a different matter”.^[12] In Surinamese Dutch paar is also the person one walks beside in a row of twos.^[14]

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 i j k l 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 f 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
4. ^ a b c Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
5. ^ a b c d e Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
6. ^ a b c Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 277
7. ^ a b c Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
8. ^ 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
9. ^ a b c 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. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
11. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
12. ^ a b c d e Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
13. ^ WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org
14. ^ Donselaar, J. van (1989), Woordenboek van het Surinaams-Nederlands, Muiderberg: Coutinho