Etymologically
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stop

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stop1 plug, fuse

Pronunciation

Forms

stop m (plural stoppen, diminutive stopje n)[1]

Etymology

The plug is inherited from Middle Dutch stoppe, recorded from the 14th century, and the Philippa dictionary and the Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal treat it as the noun of the verb stoppen “to stop up”.[2][3][1] Franck and Van Wijk take it as a derivative of the verb as well, shared with German and Frisian.[4] De Vries thinks it probably goes back to Latin stuppa (“tow”), the wads of tow that closed bungholes and the necks of bottles, with the word later formed anew from the verb in compounds such as contactstop.[5][6][7] The noun is also found in Middle Low German, as stoppe.[5][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In 1351 Middle Dutch stoppe is a wad of flax or hemp: a lamp wick is made van stoppen, dat men ooc heet werc, “of tow, which is also called oakum”.[2] In 1368 a Deventer record names a man who had the town's wine bottles altered an die halse ende an die stoppe, “at the neck and at the stopper”.[2][4][8]

Semantic evolution

Between 1453 and 1497 a cloth ordinance uses stop for a darned patch in cloth.[2][9] In modern Dutch the stopper is usually part of the vessel rather than a cork, though in the south a cork is also called a stop.[3] When electricity came, the word was used for the end piece of a lead and then for the fuse that melts when the current is too high.[3][10]

Timeline

  • 1351 – Middle Dutch stoppe “wad of tow”.[2]
  • 1368 – “Stopper” of a bottle, in Deventer.[2][8]
  • 1453–97 – “Darned place” in cloth.[2]
  • 1646 – A stopper closing a bamboo vessel.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A stopper, plug that closes an opening: de stop van de gootsteen.[10][1]
  2. An electric fuse: er is een stop doorgeslagen.[10][1]
  3. A darned place in a fabric.[10]
  4. The dip between forehead and nose of some dogs.[10]

Word family

  • stopfles
  • smeltstop
  • stoppenkast

stop2 halt, pause

Pronunciation

Forms

stop m[10]

Etymology

The halt is borrowed from English stop, the noun of the English verb.[2][11] De Vries and De Tollenaere take it as the verbal noun of the Dutch stoppen in its sense “to halt”, as in stopzetten “to bring to a halt”.[5][6] The English verb is the same word as the Dutch one.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Philippa dictionary first finds the word in a compound, the announcement of a prijsstop “price freeze” in 1950, and alone in a 1974 headline, Giscard belooft stop op kernproeven, “Giscard promises a stop to nuclear tests”.[2]

Semantic evolution

Van Dale recorded the senses “pause, rest” and “the stopping” in 1961.[2] Today the noun is also used of a decision to allow no further growth, and as an interjection that orders someone to halt or to stop doing something.[10][12] As a call to halt the word went into Russian and Indonesian setop.[13]

Timeline

  • 1950 – Prijsstop “price freeze”.[2]
  • 1961 – “Pause, rest” and “the stopping” in Van Dale.[2]
  • 1974 – The noun used alone of a halt to nuclear tests.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A short break or halt: na twee uur rijden maakten we een stop.[10][12]
  2. A decision to allow no further growth or increase: een stop op nieuwe vergunningen.[10][12]

Interjection

  1. halt!, no further![10]
  2. Enough!, stop it![10]

Word family

  • prijsstop

Usage notes

Alle stoppen slaan bij hem door, “all his fuses blow”, is said of someone who loses control of himself.[10] Een sanitaire stop is a break to go to the toilet.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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 c Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  5. ^ a b c Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  6. ^ a b Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum
  7. ^ Veen, P. A. F. van; Sijs, Nicoline van der (1997), Etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van onze woorden, 2nd ed., Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Lexicografie
  8. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  9. ^ Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  11. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2005), Groot leenwoordenboek, Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale
  12. ^ a b c WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org
  13. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)