rijden

Forms

rijden^[1] In speech, informal writing and rhyme the verb is also rijen, with the past tense ree, reeën.^[2] Cats sometimes rhymes the one-syllable form rien.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch rîden, inherited from Old Dutch rīdan (“to ride”), inherited from Proto-West Germanic *rīdan, inherited from Proto-Germanic *rīdaną (“to ride”).^[3][1][4] The same strong verb is Old Saxon rīdan, Old High German rītan (modern German reiten), Old Frisian rīda, Old English rīdan (modern English ride) and Old Norse ríða, all at first used of moving along on horseback.^[3][5] The verb is missing in Gothic.^[6]

Outside Germanic it is related to Lithuanian riedė́ti (“to roll (of a wagon)”), Old Irish réidid (“to ride”) and ríad (“ride, journey”), to Gaulish rēda (“cart”), which was borrowed as Latin raeda (“four-wheeled travelling carriage”), and to Welsh gorwydd (“horse”), from ⟨*wo-rēdo-⟩ (see paard).^[3][7] These go back to Proto-Indo-European *reydʰ- (“to move along”).^[3][1] Kroonen reconstructs the present as ⟨*Hréidʰ-e-⟩, with an initial laryngeal.^[5]

Porzig (1954) saw the sense “to ride” as a new development shared by Germanic and Celtic.^[3][7] In his view an older sense “to rock, swing” was turned into a forceful word that replaced the inherited verb for travelling.^[7] Franck and Van Wijk took the original meaning to be “to move oneself not with one's own body but by means of someone or something else”, and point to reið (“riding; troop of riders; wagon”), Old High German reita (“wagon”) and rād (“riding, journey”) (modern road).^[8][2] Schrijnen's idea (1901) that the verb is schrijden without an initial ⟨s⟩ fails, De Vries says, on the sounds.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first records are in the Old Dutch Rhyming Bible fragments from Werden, of the second half of the 12th century: Her ne ride up negeinen rosse mit guden gewande, “he shall not ride on any horse with fine trappings”, in a comparison with Heraclius and the cross.^[4][3] Middle Dutch riden follows in Aiol (1220–1240): Nu reit aiol uort harde unuerre, “now Aiol rode on a little way”.^[3][9][10]

Semantic evolution

According to the EWN, the original Germanic sense was moving on the back of a beast of burden, usually a horse, and each Germanic language developed further senses from it.^[3] In Dutch, and under its influence in Frisian, the verb passed through driving with a horse and cart to the general sense of travelling over land in any vehicle, where German uses fahren.^[3] Middle Dutch also used it of travelling by ship: in a text of 1300–1350 Walewein quam gereden in a ship.^[3][6] Winschoten still records in 1681 that a ship rijdt at anchor in a storm.^[11]

The 13th-century texts have further senses: a fever “rides” a sick man, tormenting him (1290), and a stallion “rides” a mare, covering her (1285).^[9] The curse rijd je te pletter! continues the old wish that an illness might ride someone.^[12] Skating is riden opt ijs in a manuscript of about 1490, and schaatsenrijden keeps a trace of the old wider sense of moving along.^[2][6] In the 16th century Goedthals records men moet rijden en omzien, “one must drive and look about”, that is, be careful, like a good carter.^[13][14] By the late 19th century the verb was used of bicycles and cars.^[3]

The verb went into the creoles: Negerhollands ri, Berbice Dutch rei, Sranan rèi, which gave Saramaccan léi, and Caribbean Javanese rèi “to ride, drive”.^[15][1] French borrowed it as the obsolete rider “to follow the track of game”.^[15] Afrikaans has ry.^[1]

Timeline

• 1151–1200 – Old Dutch ride in the Rhyming Bible fragments from Werden.^[4][3]
• 1220–1240 – Middle Dutch reit “rode” in Aiol.^[3][10]
• 1285 – A West Flemish text uses riden of a stallion covering a mare.^[9]
• 1290 – An East Flemish text says a fever hadde gereden a sick man.^[9]
• 1300–1350 – Riden of travelling by ship.^[3]
• c. 1490 – Riden opt ijs “skating” in a manuscript.^[2]
• 16th century – Goedthals records men moet rijden en omzien.^[13]
• 1681 – Winschoten uses rijden of a ship at anchor in a storm.^[11]
• 1883 – Rijden of going by bicycle or car.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To drive, to travel in a vehicle; of vehicles, to move along: we rijden morgen met de auto naar Gent, de laatste bus rijdt om middernacht.^[16][1][17]
2. To ride an animal, especially a horse: zij rijdt al jaren paard.^[16][17]
3. To skate: op de vaart werd druk gereden.^[16][2]
4. To take someone somewhere in a vehicle: hij reed zijn moeder naar het station.^[16][17]
5. Of vehicles and roads, to feel a certain way while driving: die oude fiets rijdt nog prima.^[16]
6. To move up and down or back and forth.^[16]

Word family

• rijder
• rijtuig
• rijwiel
• rijbewijs
• berijden
• aanrijden
• afrijden
• autorijden
• doorrijden
• schaatsenrijden
• spookrijden
• rijverbod

Related words

• rit
• ridder
• reilen
• English ride
• German reiten

Usage notes

Rijden takes hebben or zijn in the perfect: zij heeft paard gereden, but zij is naar huis gereden.^[2] In Surinamese Dutch it is also used of travelling by boat and sometimes by plane, as Sranan waka covers every kind of movement.^[18]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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
4. ^ a b c Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
5. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
7. ^ a b c d 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 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
10. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
11. ^ a b Winschoten, Wigardus à (1681), Seeman: behelsende een grondige uitlegging van de Neederlandse konst- en spreekwoorden, voor soo veel die uit de seevaart sijn ontleend, Leiden
12. ^ Sterkenburg, P. G. J. van (2001), Vloeken: een cultuurbepaalde reactie op woede, irritatie en frustratie, 2nd ed., Den Haag: Sdu
13. ^ a b Stoett, F. A. (1923–1925), Nederlandsche spreekwoorden, spreekwijzen, uitdrukkingen en gezegden, 4th ed., 3 vols., Zutphen: Thieme
14. ^ Veen, P. A. F. van; Sijs, Nicoline van der (1997), Etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van onze woorden, 2nd ed., Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Lexicografie
15. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
16. ^ a b c d e f Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
17. ^ a b c WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org
18. ^ Donselaar, J. van (1989), Woordenboek van het Surinaams-Nederlands, Muiderberg: Coutinho