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stad

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Pronunciation

Forms

stad f (plural steden, diminutive stadje n)[1] Derivatives and the plural have the umlauted stem stede-: steden, stedelijk, stedeling.[2][1] The older form stede, reduced to stee, survives as a word for a place or a farmstead.[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch stat, inherited from Old Dutch stat, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *stadi, inherited from Proto-Germanic *stadiz (“place”).[2][1][4] The same noun is Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌸𐍃 (staþs), Old Norse staðr, Old English stede (modern English stead), Old Frisian stede, Old Saxon stedi and Old High German stat, whose descendants are German Stadt, statt and Stätte.[2][5][6][4] It is an action noun from the root of staan, Proto-Indo-European *sth₂-tí- (“standing”), like Latin statiō (“a standing still, post”), Ancient Greek στάσις (stásis, “standing; uprising”) and Sanskrit स्थिति (sthíti, “standing, state”).[2][5][4]

The regular Middle Dutch form was stêde, with umlaut caused by the old stem vowel ⟨-i⟩, and it was used mainly in the west.[2][7] The form ⟨stat⟩, without umlaut, was made on the model of the long-stemmed nouns of the same class, which had lost the ⟨-i⟩, and was mainly eastern; the two forms were mixed early.[2][6][7] The plural ⟨steden⟩ still has the umlaut, which is rare in Dutch.[1]

The meaning “town, city” was taken over from Middle High German stat in the 13th century, according to the EWN.[2] De Vries and the EWN place the rise of the urban sense in Cologne, where around 1200 the word replaced the older burg and the somewhat later poort “(port) town”, in step with Medieval Latin, where ⟨villa⟩ replaced ⟨civitas⟩, and French, where ⟨ville⟩ replaced ⟨cité⟩.[2][5][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The oldest record is the West Flemish place name Hostede, “high place”, now Hoogstade, in a document of 857 known from a copy of 961.[2][9] The Wachtendonck Psalms of the 10th century have Got an stede heilegoro sinro, “God in his holy place”, and the Egmond Williram of about 1100 speaks of eyn stad, thar ther wassent arbusculę, “a place where shrubs grow”.[2][10] The sense “fortified place, town” first appears in the Rhineland Reimbibel of 1151–1200, Tho her quam zo there stat, “when he came to the city”, of Jerusalem.[2]

Semantic evolution

In Middle Dutch stat and stede meant “place, space” in the widest sense, also a person's position or office, and only gradually “town”.[11][2][7] A charter of 1279 says dat jc sette in mine stede, “that I appoint in my place”, and the Rijmbijbel of 1285 says that Babylonie die stede had a circuit of sixty miles.[2] The phrase iemands stad houden, to take someone's place, gave stadhouder (1481), the deputy of a sovereign and later the title of the princes of Orange.[2][12]

The sense “place” was still common around 1600, as in the phrase in de stad van, “instead of”, and in stad grijpen, “to take place, take effect”, but is now obsolete.[12] It survives in bedstee, in hofstede and in the phrases hier ter stede, “in this town or place”, and in stede van, “instead of”.[2] The proverb het kan beter van de stad dan van het dorp says that the richer party should bear a cost.[13]

In Suriname de stad is Paramaribo, the only town of the country.[14] The word was taken into English as the obsolete stade “chief town”, into Swedish, and into the Dutch creoles and Papiamentu as stat;[15][1] South African English stat “a black settlement” came through Afrikaans.[15][1]

Timeline

  • 857 – The place name Hostede “high place” is recorded (copy of 961).[2][9]
  • 901–1000 – The Wachtendonck Psalms have stede “place”.[2][3]
  • c. 1100 – The Egmond Williram has stad in the sense “place”.[10][2]
  • 1151–1200 – The Reimbibel uses stat of the city of Jerusalem.[2]
  • c. 1200 – Stat, stede begins to replace burg and poort as the word for a town.[2][8]
  • 1481 – Stadhouder “deputy of the sovereign” is first recorded.[2]
  • 1624 – Stad grijpen “to take place” is still in use.[12]

Meanings

Noun

  1. a city or town, a large place with a centre and continuous building, divided into streets and districts: Ze verhuisden van het platteland naar de stad.[16][17][1]
  2. the centre of a town, where the shops are: We gaan zaterdag de stad in.[1]
  3. the inhabitants or the government of a town: De stad betaalt de nieuwe brug.[18][12]
  4. (Suriname) Paramaribo.[14]

Word family

  • stadhouder
  • benedenstad
  • binnenstad
  • bovenstad
  • Domstad
  • grootsteeds
  • handelsstad
  • havenstad
  • Hofstad
  • hoofdstad
  • kleinsteeds
  • koopstad
  • miljoenenstad
  • stedelijk
  • stedeling

Usage notes

Fixed names include de Eeuwige Stad, Rome, and de glazen stad, the Westland with its many greenhouses.[16] Some compounds still show the old sense “place”, such as stadhouder “deputy, someone who holds another's place”.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v 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. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  6. ^ a b Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ a b Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 363
  9. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  10. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
  11. ^ Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
  12. ^ 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
  13. ^ Stoett, F. A. (1923–1925), Nederlandsche spreekwoorden, spreekwijzen, uitdrukkingen en gezegden, 4th ed., 3 vols., Zutphen: Thieme
  14. ^ a b Donselaar, J. van (1989), Woordenboek van het Surinaams-Nederlands, Muiderberg: Coutinho
  15. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  16. ^ a b Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  17. ^ Algemeen Nederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; anw.ivdnt.org
  18. ^ WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org