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Etymology and origin of the Dutch word pit

pit1 seed, kernel; wick; energy

Confidence
Uncertain
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1484 Middle Dutch
Inherited from
Middle Dutch pit

Pronunciation

Forms

pit f (plural pitten, diminutive pitje n)[1]

Etymology

The word for the seed is inherited from Middle Dutch pit, also pitte, whose further origin is unknown.[2][3][4] Outside Dutch it is found only in Middle Low German pit, pitte “kernel, pith, strength”.[2][5][4]

The EWN suggests that it may be the same word as pedic “pith of wood”, Early Modern Dutch ⟨peddick⟩ and the dialect form ⟨peek⟩, which go with pedik “marrow, core”, Old English piþa “pith; essence” (modern English pith) and West Frisian piid “marrow, core; energy”; it traces that group, found only in West Germanic, to Proto-Germanic *piþan.[2] Franck–Van Wijk and the Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal explain the ⟨tt⟩ of ⟨pit⟩ from a Proto-Indo-European cluster *tn beside the forms with ⟨þ⟩ or ⟨d⟩, while De Vries and Van Haeringen see an intensive formation, as in klit.[4][6][5][7] Wiktionary takes it from *pittan, an oblique form of *piþō, and compares dialectal German Pfitze (“pimple”).[1] Because the word is found in so small an area and belongs to the vocabulary of plants, the EWN and De Vries think it may come from a substrate language.[2][5]

The sense “wick” is the same word, used for the plaited thread in the core of a candle or oil lamp.[2][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record, of 1484, uses Middle Dutch pit for the pith of a tree: in dat pit of dat merch van desen boom “in the pith or marrow of this tree”.[2][9][10]

Semantic evolution

From the core of wood the word passed to the seeds and stones of fruit: Kiliaan in 1599 has pit and pitte for a seed, a fruit kernel and the heart of something.[2] The Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal sorts the senses under “the inside, the core of a thing”: the seeds of apples and pears, the stone of plums and cherries, and the edible kernel of a nut.[6] Figuratively pit came to mean “sense, understanding” (about 1635) and then “vigour, energy” (1671).[2]

The thread inside a candle is called het pit van eene kaers in 1691, and the wick of an oil lamp in 1710.[2] With gas lighting the word passed to the burner of a gas lamp (gaspit, 1871), and in the 20th century to the burner of a gas stove, as in op een heel laag pitje “on a very low flame” (1940).[2]

Dutch lent the word to American English, where pit became the common word for the stone of a fruit;[5][11][12] Etymonline dates it from 1841.[5][11][12] It also went into West Frisian piid, and the “burner” sense into Indonesian pit.[11]

Timeline

  • 1484 – Middle Dutch pit is first recorded, for the pith of a tree.[2][10]
  • 1599 – Kiliaan records pit and pitte “seed, kernel, heart”.[2]
  • c. 1635 – The sense “sense, understanding” appears.[2]
  • 1671 – The sense “energy, vigour” appears, in zoveel kracht en zoveel pit.[2]
  • 1691 – Pit is used for the wick of a candle.[2]
  • 1710 – It is used for the wick of an oil lamp.[2]
  • 1841 – English pit “hard seed”, from Dutch, is first recorded.[12]
  • 1871 – Gaspit “gas burner” is recorded.[2]
  • 1940 – Pitje is used for a burner on a gas stove.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A seed or stone in a fruit; the kernel of a nut.[13][1][6]
  2. The wick of a candle or oil lamp.[13][1]
  3. A burner on a stove or other cooker.[13][1]
  4. Spirit, vigour, energy.[13][1]
  5. The pith of wood.[13]

Word family

  • pitvis
  • abrikozenpit
  • gaspit
  • kaarsenpit
  • kersenpit
  • lampenpit
  • pittig
  • pruimenpit
  • pitrus
  • kankerpit

pit2 pit (motor racing)

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1961
Borrowed from
English pit
Ultimate origin
Latin puteus
Etymology tree of pit2
inherited borrowed derived
English pit
Dutch pit
From the same root · pit2
English cockpit ← pit

Pronunciation

Forms

pit m (plural pits, no diminutive)[1]

Etymology

The word for the service area at a race track is borrowed from English pit, first recorded in Dutch in 1961.[10][1][14] The English word is from Old English pytt “hole in the ground, well”, which goes back through Proto-Germanic *putt- to an early loan of Latin puteus (“well, pit, shaft”), the same source as Dutch put.[12]

Earliest recorded meaning

Van der Sijs dates the sense “post at motor races” to 1961, from a Van Dale dictionary.[10][14]

Timeline

  • 1961 – The motor-racing sense is first recorded, as a loan from English.[10][14]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (motor racing) A pit, the workshop beside a circuit where cars are refuelled and repaired; mostly in the plural pits.[13][1][14]

Usage notes

In the “seed” and “wick” senses pit is mostly de (feminine), but in the senses “pith”, “energy” and their figurative uses it is often het.[6][13] Ruwe bolster, blanke pit “rough husk, white kernel” is said of someone who is rough on the outside but kind at heart.[13] In 19th-century theatre language op de pit leunen meant to ask for an advance on one's salary, and also to lean over the prompter's lamp waiting for every word, which Stoett takes to be the original sense; it also meant “to sponge on others”.[15]

In Flanders, Zeeland and the South Holland islands pit is also a dialect form of put “well, pit”, with the unrounding of ⟨u⟩ to ⟨i⟩ that is typical of the coastal dialects.[6][16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 r 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. ^ Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 288
  4. ^ a b c Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  5. ^ a b c d e Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  6. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ Haeringen, C. B. van (1936), Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal: Supplement, 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  8. ^ Vercoullie, Jozef (1925), Beknopt etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 3rd ed., 's-Gravenhage / Gent: Nijhoff / Van Rysselberghe & Rombaut
  9. ^ Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
  10. ^ a b c d e Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  11. ^ a b c Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  12. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  14. ^ a b c d WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org
  15. ^ Stoett, F. A. (1923–1925), Nederlandsche spreekwoorden, spreekwijzen, uitdrukkingen en gezegden, 4th ed., 3 vols., Zutphen: Thieme
  16. ^ Debrabandere, Frans (2007), Zeeuws etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van de Zeeuwse woorden, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Atlas

Related etymologies

  • koffie · also from English
  • boom · also from English
  • oké · also from English
  • hallo · also from English
  • sorry · also from English
  • stop · also from English
  • baby · also from English
  • dollar · also from English
Cite this entry

“Pit.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/nl/pit. Accessed 16 Nov. 2026.

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