slede

Forms

slede f (plural sleden, diminutive sleetje n)^[1] The usual modern form is slee¹, which arose from slede through loss of the /d/ between vowels.^[2][1] Van Dale marks slede as formal, and Wiktionary as dated.^[3][1] Middle Dutch also had sledde, still found in southern dialects, and sleedse.^[4][5][2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch slede, inherited from Old Dutch *slido, inherited from Proto-Germanic *slidô.^[2][1] The EWN reconstructs a masculine *slidan- and a feminine *slidōn-, with the same meaning.^[2] The same word is Old Saxon slido, Old High German slito (modern German Schlitten), West Frisian slide and Old Norse sleði.^[2][6] Beside it stand sledde, Middle Low German sledde and sliddo, with an expressive ⟨dd⟩, and the 16th-century North Holland form ⟨sleedse⟩.^[6][7]

The vehicle is named from sliding: the noun is an ablaut form of the strong verb Proto-Germanic *slīdan-, continued by Middle High German slīten and Old English slīdan (modern English slide).^[2][8][9] Outside Germanic the root Proto-Indo-European *sleidʰ- “to slip” is found in Lithuanian slidùs (“slippery”), slìdė (“ski”) and slýsti (“to slip”), and in Latvian slīdēt (“to slide”).^[2][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Van der Sijs dates the word to 1266, when die slede names a piece of land near Bruges; the Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek is unsure whether this is the sledge-like frame on which a farmer carried his plough or harrow, or another word.^[11][12] The EWN's first sure record is from Holland in 1343–1344, when red cloth is bought to cover a lord's sclede on his journeys.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

In Middle and early modern Dutch the slede carried goods as much as people: a Middle Dutch sledde was also a farm implement, and an ordinance of 1543 forbids carters to drive their sledges over the timberwork of the harbour heads.^[4][5] In Amsterdam a closed sledge served as a carriage without wheels, which is why a livery-stable keeper was called a sleeper.^[4][5] The word also named the cradle on which ships were launched or hauled ashore (1671), the carriage of a sawmill (1658) and other sliding frames.^[5] De Vries cites the ship's sense before 1579.^[6]

Several Dutch forms went into English: sled from Middle Dutch sledde, sledge from sleedse (1617), and sleigh from slee in North America (1703).^[2][6][13] Afrikaans has slee, and Papiamentu once had slede.^[1][14]

Timeline

• 1266 – Die slede names a piece of land near Bruges.^[12][11]
• 1300 – A Brabant text records een egghe metter sledde “a harrow with its sledge”.^[4]
• 1343–1344 – A lord's sclede is covered with red cloth for his journeys.^[2][4]
• 1454 – The short form slee is recorded.^[10]
• 1543 – An ordinance forbids driving sledges over the harbour timberwork.^[5]
• 1617 – English sledge is recorded, from Dutch sleedse.^[6]
• 1703 – English sleigh is recorded, from Dutch slee.^[13][6]

Meanings

Noun

1. (formal) A sledge, sleigh, a vehicle on two runners that slides over snow or ice.^[3][1]
2. A sliding base or part of a machine, such as a carriage.^[3][5]
3. (informal) A large luxury car.^[3][1]

Word family

• arrenslee
• bobslee
• hondenslee
• sledehond
• sleeën

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
4. ^ a b c d e f Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
5. ^ a b c d e f 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
6. ^ a b c d e f Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ Haeringen, C. B. van (1936), Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal: Supplement, 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
8. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
9. ^ Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum
10. ^ 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
11. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
12. ^ a b 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
13. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
14. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)