stoppen

Forms

stoppen^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch stoppen, inherited from Old Dutch stuppon (“to stop up”), inherited from Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn.^[2][1][3][4] Middle Dutch also had a form ⟨stopen⟩.^[2][5] The same verb is Middle Low German stoppen, Old High German stopfōn (modern German stopfen (“to stuff, plug”)), Old Frisian stoppia and Old English forstoppian (“to stop up”).^[2][6]

Its origin has long been argued over.^[2][7] Some took it as a loan of Vulgar Latin stuppō (“to stop up with tow”), from Latin stuppa (“tow”), itself from Ancient Greek στύπη (stúppē).^[2][7][8] Franck and Van Wijk rejected this because Old High German ⟨stopfōn⟩ meant “to stab, poke”, not “to plug”.^[9][7] The Philippa dictionary describes the view that has emerged between them: a native verb meaning “to poke, thrust”, of the family of stoten, was influenced by the Latin verb in the Lower Rhine area.^[2] This happened after the 7th century, since the Old High German forms with ⟨pp⟩ show no High German sound shift.^[2] Trade and seafaring then carried the word along the southern North Sea coast.^[2] The native verb is related to Latin stupeō (“to be stunned, stand still”), Ancient Greek τύπτω (túptō, “to strike”) and Sanskrit तुपति (tupáti, “he strikes”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewp-, an extension of *(s)tew- (“to push, strike”).^[2][6] Its /pp/ probably goes back to *-bʰn- in present forms (Kluge's law).^[2][6]

The sense “to halt” developed in Middle Dutch and Middle Low German from “to plug” through “to stanch a flow”.^[2][4] The noun stop is formed from the verb.^[2][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Wachtendonck Psalms of the 10th century speak of an adder stuppendero oron iro, “stopping her ears”.^[2][11] In Middle Dutch the verb is first recorded in Brabant in 1265–70, where a woman holds a wound closed with her hand: Mar so si stopde meer die wonde met harre hant.^[2][5] In 1286 the town accounts of Bruges pay for stopping holes in a sluice, with the form stopen.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

A medical text of 1287 uses the verb for stanching blood, for bringing something to a halt and, intransitively, for coming to a stop.^[2][5] This sense spread through Hanseatic shipping, and the 19th century, with its steamships, trains and cars, made it far more common;^[2][11][12] English special uses such as a train stopping at a station then came into Dutch, and Dutch stoppen for vehicles is dated to 1849.^[2][11][12] The sense “to put, tuck away” is found in the 15th century, and darning a hole in a stocking is another old use.^[2][7]

Een gat stoppen, “to stop a hole”, also means “to pay off a debt”: Winschoten (1681) explains Dat gat is niet te stoppen as debts that cannot be paid.^[13] Dutch or Low German gave Danish stoppe, Swedish stoppa and Russian štopatʹ “to darn”, and Indonesian setop, Sranan stop and Papiamentu stòp “to halt”.^[14][1]

Timeline

• 901–1000 – Old Dutch stuppon “to stop up” in the Wachtendonck Psalms.^[2][11]
• 1265–70 – Middle Dutch stoppen “to hold closed”.^[2][5]
• 1286 – Stopen “to stop up holes” in Bruges accounts.^[5]
• 1287 – “To stanch, bring to a halt” and “to come to a stop”.^[2][5]
• 15th century – “To put into”.^[2]
• 1681 – Dat gat is niet te stoppen of debts in Winschoten.^[13]
• 1849 – Stoppen of a vehicle coming to a halt.^[11]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive) To stop, come to a halt: de bus stopt hier niet.^[15][1]
2. (intransitive) To stop, give up, usually with met: zij is vorig jaar met roken gestopt.^[15][16]
3. (transitive) To darn a hole in a fabric: een sok stoppen.^[15][1]
4. (transitive) To slow the working of the bowels.^[15]
5. (transitive) To plug, fill an opening: een lek in de boot stoppen.^[15][1]
6. (transitive) To put, tuck away: hij stopte het briefje in zijn zak.^[15][1]
7. (transitive) To bring to a halt: de scheidsrechter stopte de wedstrijd.^[15][16]

Word family

• stop
• instoppen
• stopbord
• stopcontact
• stopverbod
• stopwoord
• wegstoppen
• bestoppen
• ontstoppen
• stopper
• stopsel
• verstoppen
• afstoppen
• onderstoppen
• stopkraan

Related words

• stoten
• German stopfen

Usage notes

Het ene gat met het andere stoppen is borrowing money to pay off a debt.^[15][13] Iets in de doofpot stoppen is hushing a matter up.^[15]

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 h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w 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. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altniederfränkisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
4. ^ a b Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum
5. ^ a b c d e f g 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
6. ^ a b c Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ 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
8. ^ Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
9. ^ Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
10. ^ Algemeen Nederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; anw.ivdnt.org
11. ^ a b c d e Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
12. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2005), Groot leenwoordenboek, Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale
13. ^ a b c Stoett, F. A. (1923–1925), Nederlandsche spreekwoorden, spreekwijzen, uitdrukkingen en gezegden, 4th ed., 3 vols., Zutphen: Thieme
14. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
15. ^ a b c d e f g h i Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
16. ^ a b WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org