Etymologically
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stel

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Pronunciation

Forms

stel n (plural stellen, diminutive stelletje n)[1] Middle Dutch has stel and stelle.[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch stel, a northern Middle Dutch noun derived from the verb stellen “to place, set up”.[3][4][5][6][1] The same word is Middle Low German stel, and German Stelle (“place”) is a parallel formation.[2][4] De Vries and Franck–Van Wijk think the modern noun may also be a Holland form of Middle Dutch ghestelle, which lives on in gestel.[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is first recorded in Holland in 1343, for a load that could be carried at one time, een stelle houts “a load of wood”, and for part of the works of a mill at Oudewater.[2][7] In 1428 it is a low wheeled cart for goods.[2]

Semantic evolution

In Middle Dutch the word named a cart, part of a mill and a weaving loom, the last from 1491.[2] Later Dutch used it for the undercarriage of a wagon, a beer cart (Utrecht, 1729), a rack for beer casks, and a cooking stove burning oil, spirit or gas, the modern gasstel.[6]

From the 17th century stel is a set of things that belong together: een stel seijlen “a set of sails” (1657), complete sets of account books (1665), and later sets of silver spoons or porcelain.[6] Van der Sijs dates the sense “pair” from 1656–1657.[7] Of people it means a group or a couple, often with a disparaging or ironic tone, especially in the diminutive stelletje.[6][8]

A masculine noun of the same origin is found in the phrases op stel “in order” and van zijn stel “out of order” from 1617.[6][9]

Dutch stel was borrowed into Danish and Norwegian for a frame or a set, into South African English through Afrikaans for a trap, into Indonesian as setél “set”, and as “pair” into several Malay varieties, Papiamentu (stèl) and Sranan Tongo (steri).[10][1]

Timeline

  • 1343 – Middle Dutch stelle is first recorded, in Holland, for a load and for part of a mill.[2][7]
  • 1428 – Stel is used of a cart.[2]
  • 1491 – The word means a weaving loom.[2]
  • 1617 – Op zijn stel “in order” is recorded.[6]
  • 1656–1657 – The sense “pair” appears.[7]
  • 1657 – Een stel seijlen “a set of sails” is recorded.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A set of things that belong together: een stel nieuwe pannen.[8][1]
  2. A couple, two people who belong together: Ze zijn al tien jaar een stel.[8][1]
  3. (informal) A number, a few: Er stond een stel jongens bij de ingang.[8][1]
  4. A frame or base, such as the undercarriage of a wagon; also a small cooking stove.[6]

Word family

  • bankstel
  • drumstel
  • gasstel
  • onderstel
  • peper-en-zoutstel
  • treinstel
  • stelletje
  • toestel
  • uitstel
  • stellen
  • gestel

Usage notes

Op stel en sprong “at once, suddenly” goes back to the 17th century, when Hooft and Bredero used it.[9][6] In Flemish and Brabant dialects stel is also an adjective meaning “stale, flat, no longer fresh”, already in Middle Dutch of drinks; it is compared with English stale and probably derived from staan.[11][12][2] In Suriname a stel is a filled roll.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
  3. ^ a b Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  4. ^ a b c Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  5. ^ Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 366
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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
  7. ^ a b c d Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  8. ^ a b c d Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  9. ^ a b Stoett, F. A. (1923–1925), Nederlandsche spreekwoorden, spreekwijzen, uitdrukkingen en gezegden, 4th ed., 3 vols., Zutphen: Thieme
  10. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  11. ^ Debrabandere, Frans (2002), West-Vlaams etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van de West-Vlaamse woorden, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Atlas
  12. ^ Debrabandere, Frans (2010), Brabants etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van de woordenschat van Antwerpen, Brussel, Noord-Brabant en Vlaams-Brabant, Zwolle: Wbooks
  13. ^ Donselaar, J. van (1989), Woordenboek van het Surinaams-Nederlands, Muiderberg: Coutinho