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terug

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Etymology and origin of the Dutch word terug

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1290–1310, Middle Dutch (as te rughe)
Ultimate origins
Proto-Germanic *taDutch rug
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Dutch te
Dutch terug
Derived words
Dutch helemaal ← te
Dutch tot ← te

Pronunciation

  • /təˈrʏx/, /trʏx/[1]

Forms

terug[1] Middle Dutch wrote it separately, te rugge, and poets kept that form for the metre into modern times.[2][3] The usual Middle Dutch word was achter rugge.[4][5]

Etymology

It is formed from Dutch te (“to”) + rug (“back”), from the Middle Dutch phrase te rugghe (“away from oneself, backwards”).[3][4][2] The original meaning was “towards the back”.[2] Middle Low German to rugge and Old High German ze rucke (modern German zurück) have the same make-up and also came to mean “backwards”.[3][4][5]

In Middle Dutch the form was still rare and seems to have been used mainly in the south-east, in the Teuthonista and the Limburg Sermons, while the west said ⟨achter rugghe⟩; from there it spread after the Middle Ages.[2][6][4] The noun for “back” gave words for “backwards” elsewhere too, as Proto-Germanic *baka- (“back”) did in West Frisian tebek, English back and Swedish tillbaka.[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in a text of 1290–1310: van dengenen die Gode te rughe werpen “of those who cast God behind them”, that is, reject him.[3] The sense “back to where one came from” is recorded in 1376–1400.[7][8]

Semantic evolution

A late Middle Dutch text of 1465–1485 has wy doen se alle wederkeren te rugge “we make them all turn back”, and in 1544 a horse spranc te rugge, jumped backwards.[3] From the 16th century the word was used more and more, mostly in compound verbs such as terugkomen and teruggeven.[2] The plain sense “backwards” is rare and was even suspected of being a Germanism after zurück.[2]

A movement back leads to the earlier situation again, which explains the sense “again”, much more widespread in Belgium than in the Netherlands; it is recorded in 1867.[3][9] The modern dictionaries also record the sense “earlier, ago”, as in een paar jaar terug.[9][1] Terug naar af “back to square one” comes from the game of Monopoly, and weer helemaal terug “popular again” was new in 1982.[10]

The word went into Javindo (teruh), Petjo (truh) and Negerhollands (teryg), and Afrikaans has terug.[11][1]

Timeline

  • 1290–1310 – Te rughe is first recorded, in “to cast God behind one”.[3]
  • 1376–1400 – The sense “backwards, back” is recorded.[7][8]
  • 1465–1485 – Wederkeren te rugge “to turn back” is recorded.[3]
  • 1544 – A horse spranc te rugge, jumped backwards.[3]
  • 1867 – The Belgian sense “again” is recorded.[3]
  • 1982 – Weer helemaal terug “back in fashion” appears in the press.[10]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. back, to the place or person one came from: Hij kwam pas om tien uur terug.[9][1]
  2. Backwards: Ze deed een stap terug.[9][1]
  3. In return, back: Je krijgt nog twee euro terug.[1]
  4. Earlier, ago: Een paar jaar terug woonde ik hier.[9][12]
  5. (Belgium) Again, once more.[9][1]

Word family

  • terugtocht
  • terugbellen
  • terugdeinzen
  • terugdringen
  • teruggaan
  • teruggooien
  • terughalen
  • terugkijken
  • terugkrijgen
  • terugsturen
  • terugvliegen
  • terugblik
  • terugmars
  • terugreis
  • terugkomen
  • teruggeven

Usage notes

Niet meer terug kunnen means to be unable to go back on a promise.[9][2]

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 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
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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
  4. ^ a b c d Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  5. ^ a b c Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  6. ^ Haeringen, C. B. van (1936), Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal: Supplement, 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  7. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  8. ^ 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
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  10. ^ a b Reinsma, R. (1984), Neologismen, Utrecht: Spectrum
  11. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  12. ^ WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org
Cite this entry

“Terug.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/nl/terug. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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