schieten

Forms

schieten^[1] Eastern Middle Dutch also has scheten.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch schieten, inherited from Old Dutch skietan, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *skeutan, inherited from Proto-Germanic *skeutan- (“to shoot, dash”).^[3][1][4] The same verb is Old Saxon skiotan, Old High German sciozan (modern German schießen), Old Frisian skiāta (modern West Frisian sjitte), Old English scēotan (modern English shoot) and Old Norse skjóta (modern Swedish skjuta), and Crimean Gothic is recorded with ⟨schieten⟩.^[3][5][4] Words from the same root with other vowels include schuit, schutter, schot and scheut, and probably schutten.^[3]

The further origin is unclear.^[3] Following the LIV, the EWN mentions a link with Sanskrit चोदति (códati, “drives on”) and Albanian hedh (“throws”) from Proto-Indo-European *(s)k(ʷ)eud- (“to drive forward”); geographically closer is Lithuanian šáuti (“to shoot, push”), which points to a root *skeu- that Germanic would have extended with a dental.^[3][6] Kroonen instead takes the strong verb as formed back from an iterative Proto-Germanic *skut(t)ōn-, from a root *sket- seen in Lithuanian skàsti (“to jump”), and drops the older comparisons.^[4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The 10th-century Wachtendonck Psalms say of the wicked that sia scietint an hulingon, “that they might shoot in secret”.^[7][3] Middle Dutch schieten is first recorded around 1240, and in 1285 a Flemish rhymed Bible has ende scoetene doet, “and shot him dead”.^[3][8]

Semantic evolution

Already in the old Germanic languages the verb had many transitive and intransitive senses, so its first meaning is unclear; in most of them there is the idea of quick or sudden movement.^[3] In 13th-century Middle Dutch light shoots out of Saint Lutgart's mouth (1265–1270), animals come rushing in herds (1287), a plant puts forth shoots (1287) and a creature lays its eggs (1276–1300).^[3][8] The same idea runs through phrases such as te hulp schieten, in de lach schieten, te binnen schieten, wortel schieten and foto's schieten, and through verschieten “to turn pale”, first said of startled people.^[3]

Another early sense, shared with Old English and Old Norse, is “to contribute, to pay a tax”: a charter of 1282 speaks of the dike taxes die men sciet van ghelde, and the noun skot “tax” is glossed in Old Dutch in the 12th century.^[3] It survives in geldschieter and voorschieten.^[3] In sailors' language one schoot ballast and nets, that is, threw them out.^[9][10] Schieten is also said of kicking a ball.^[11][1]

The phrase onder iemands duiven schieten, to poach on someone's preserve, recalls the old bans on shooting another man's pigeons, such as King Philip's placard of 13 April 1559.^[12] In Surinamese Dutch schieten is also used of shooting a person.^[13] Dutch passed the verb to Negerhollands, Berbice Dutch (Berbice Creole Dutch skiti) and Papiamentu (Papiamentu skit), and it lives on in Afrikaans skiet.^[14][1]

Timeline

• 901–1000 – Old Dutch scietint “might shoot” in the Wachtendonck Psalms.^[3][7][15]
• 1240 – Middle Dutch schieten.^[3]
• 1282 – Schieten “to pay (a tax)”.^[3]
• 1285 – “To move quickly” and “to shoot dead”.^[15][3]
• 1287 – “To sprout”.^[3][8]
• 1559 – A placard forbids shooting swans or pigeons.^[12]

Meanings

Verb

1. To shoot, to fire a weapon.^[11][1][16]
2. To hit or kill with a shot: een haas schieten.^[11][1]
3. To move suddenly or quickly, to dart, to rush; to come suddenly into a state: iets schiet me te binnen.^[11][1][16]
4. To kick or hit a ball, especially at goal.^[11][1][16]
5. To put forth (roots, shoots): wortel schieten.^[11][16]
6. (nautical) To take the altitude of a heavenly body: de zon schieten.^[11]

Word family

• aanschieten
• afschieten
• beschieten
• doodschieten
• opschieten
• tekortschieten
• uitschieten
• verschieten
• voorschieten
• geldschieter
• schietgebed
• schietlood
• schietpartij
• schietschijf

Related words

• schuit
• schutter
• schot
• scheut
• schutten
• English shoot
• German schießen

Usage notes

Niet geschoten is altijd mis encourages someone to try anyway, een bok schieten is to make a blunder, and lach, of ik schiet! mocks a joke that is laid on too thick.^[11]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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 i j k l m n o p q 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 Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
5. ^ Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
6. ^ Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
7. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
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. ^ 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
10. ^ 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
11. ^ a b c d e f g h Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
12. ^ a b Stoett, F. A. (1923–1925), Nederlandsche spreekwoorden, spreekwijzen, uitdrukkingen en gezegden, 4th ed., 3 vols., Zutphen: Thieme
13. ^ Donselaar, J. van (1989), Woordenboek van het Surinaams-Nederlands, Muiderberg: Coutinho
14. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
15. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
16. ^ a b c d WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org