Etymologically
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sorry

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Pronunciation

Forms

sorry[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from English sorry (“I'm sorry”), short for I am sorry, recorded as an apology in English in 1834.[2][3][4] The English adjective meant “worried, grieved, regretful” and continues Old English sārig, a derivative of sār (“pain, grief”), the word that corresponds to Dutch zeer.[2][4]

The Old English adjective has cognates in Middle Dutch serich, Old Saxon sērag, Old High German sērag and West Frisian searich, all meaning “sad, sorry”, from Proto-Germanic *sairagaz.[2][1][5] The Middle Dutch word lives on in the dialect word zeerig.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The oldest Dutch record is from the weekly De Groene Amsterdammer of 1916: we zegge “sorry” als we elkaar op de teenen trappen, “we say ‘sorry’ when we tread on each other's toes”.[2] The Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal has its first quotation from 1931.[3][6]

Semantic evolution

The word came in as a quick apology for a small offence and as a polite “excuse me”, the two senses the dictionaries still give.[2][7][1] Van Dale records the phrases sorry dat ik besta, with which someone presents himself, often ironically, as superfluous, and sorry dat ik het zeg, which softens a blunt remark.[7] Recent compounds include sorrycultuur and sorrydemocratie.[1]

From Dutch the word passed into Papiamentu sòri and the Malay of Manado.[8][1]

Timeline

  • 1834 – English sorry as a short apology.[2]
  • 1916 – Dutch sorry is first recorded, in De Groene Amsterdammer.[2]
  • 1931 – The first quotation in the Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal.[3][6]

Meanings

Interjection

  1. sorry, expressing regret: Sorry, ik was het vergeten.[7][1][9]
  2. Pardon, excuse me.[7][3][1]

Word family

  • sorrycultuur
  • sorrydemocratie
  • zeer
  • zeerig

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 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 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
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
  6. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  7. ^ a b c d Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  8. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  9. ^ WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org