soja

Forms

soja f (plural soja's, diminutive sojaatje n)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Japanese 醤油 (shōyu, “soy sauce”), which the EWN derives from a dialect pronunciation of Chinese 醬油 (jiàngyóu, “soybean oil”).^[2][3][4] Wiktionary gives the Japanese source more exactly as そや (soya), a form of そい (soi), the Kagoshima dialect form of ⟨shōyu⟩.^[1] De Vries notes that the product of the Chinese plant reached the Netherlands by way of Japan in the second half of the 17th century.^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Soya is first recorded about 1670, for the spicy sauce made from the beans.^[2][3][7] In 1746 the Keukenmeid has wat Soja in de sjeu, some soy in the gravy.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal's oldest quotation, of 1763, lists Soija with porcelain and other small goods that the Japanese sailors were allowed to carry.^[8] From the sauce the name passed to the plant itself, then named Soja hispida, whose beans also gave oil and cattle fodder.^[8] Veth argued for the spelling ⟨soja⟩ rather than ⟨soya⟩, because Dutch writes the sound /j/ with ⟨j⟩.^[9]

Dutch passed the word to other European languages: the EWN names French soja, English soy and soya, and German Soja.^[2] Etymonline dates English soy to the 1670s and explains the Dutch source by the Dutch presence in Japan before English and American traders.^[10] Van der Sijs also lists Danish, Spanish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Sranan Tongo soya, and Ambonese and Manado Malay soi, with Hungarian, Greek, Turkish and Arabic forms through German or English.^[11]

Timeline

• c. 1670 – Soya “soy sauce” is first recorded.^[2][7]
• 1670s – English soy and soya appear, from Dutch.^[10]
• 1746 – Soja is used in gravy in the Keukenmeid.^[2]
• 1763 – Soija appears among the goods of Japanese sailors.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. soy sauce, the dark brown, salty sauce made by fermenting soybeans.^[12][13]
2. soy as a crop: the soybean plants grown for food and fodder.^[12][13]
3. The soybean plant, Glycine max.^[12][13]

Word family

• sojaboon
• sojakoek
• sojameel
• sojaolie
• sojasaus
• sojamelk

Related words

• English soy

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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 Veen, P. A. F. van; Sijs, Nicoline van der (1997), Etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van onze woorden, 2nd ed., Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Lexicografie
4. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2005), Groot leenwoordenboek, Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale
5. ^ Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
6. ^ Haeringen, C. B. van (1936), Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal: Supplement, 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
7. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
8. ^ 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
9. ^ Veth, P. J. (2003 [1889]), Uit Oost en West: verklaring van 1000 woorden uit Nederlands-Indië, ed. Nicoline van der Sijs, with additions by H. Kern, Amsterdam: Atlas
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
11. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
12. ^ a b c Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
13. ^ a b c WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org