toch

Forms

toch (adverb)^[1] West Frisian and North Holland occasionally have tach.^[2] West Flemish has tochs and tochsten.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch toch, a variant of doch with ⟨d⟩ hardened to ⟨t⟩.^{[3][1][4][5][6]} The form probably arose after words ending in a voiceless consonant and in the Middle Dutch combination ⟨ende doch⟩, pronounced as ⟨*entoch⟩.^[3][7][2] De Vries leaves open whether sandhi or emphatic pronunciation caused it.^[4] The same hardening is seen in toen, from Middle Dutch ⟨doe⟩.^[8][5] The source of that adverb is Proto-Germanic *þauh (“nevertheless, though”), the ancestor also of English though.^[1]

The Frisian form West Frisian dôch kept its ⟨d⟩.^[5][9] Franck and Van Wijk at first explained that ⟨d⟩ by sandhi too and then withdrew it.^[5] Van Haeringen put it down to the development of ⟨þ⟩ in weakly stressed words.^[9]

For centuries ⟨doch⟩ and ⟨toch⟩ were both used as adverbs; after about 1700 ⟨doch⟩ survived only as a conjunction.^[3][2] In 1711 Nyloë already separated them, keeping the newer form for requests and for things done in vain.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Middle Dutch toch is first found in 1437, in cleen dropkijn die toch te niet gaen, “little drops that are lost anyway”.^[3] The sense “nevertheless” is first recorded in 1452, in ys toch gedadinght, “an agreement was nevertheless reached”.^[3][10][11]

Semantic evolution

By 1460–1480 toch strengthened questions, and by 1480 it meant “after all, as is known”.^[3] Around 1555 it urged and coaxed: Laet ons toch int stelleken gaen, “do let us go into the stable”.^[3][7] In 1796 it intensified an exclamation and gave a reason (“I don't read anyway”), and in 1841 it meant “at least”.^[3][2] The WNT, writing in 1943, notes that it is used countless times for fine shades of meaning that often no single other word can render.^[2]

The tag question …, toch? “isn't it?”, after a statement, was recorded as a neologism in the early 1980s.^[12] In Surinamese Dutch it is much more common than in the Netherlands.^[13]

Modal particles are seldom borrowed, but toch was: Indonesian and Javanese have toh, Papiamentu tòg, Sranan Tongo toku and Surinamese Javanese toh, and through Afrikaans tog it reached South African English and Xhosa.^[14][1]

Timeline

• 1437 – Middle Dutch toch is first recorded.^[3]
• 1452 – Toch “nevertheless” appears.^[3][10]
• 1480 – Toch means “after all”.^[3]
• c. 1555 – Toch is used to urge: Laet ons toch int stelleken gaen.^[3][7]
• 1599 – Kiliaan glosses it with Latin denique, tandem.^[2]
• 1711 – Nyloë separates doch “but” from the adverb toch.^[2]
• 1982 – The tag question toch? is noted as a neologism.^[12]

Meanings

Adverb

1. nevertheless, still, all the same: Het regende, maar we gingen toch wandelen.^[15][1][16]
2. Correcting what was just said: after all, actually: Ik dacht dat hij weg was, maar hij is er toch.^[15][1]
3. Stressing a conclusion: indeed, after all.^[15][2]
4. Strengthening an impatient or surprised question or an order: Wat doe je toch? Kom toch binnen!^[15][1]
5. Expressing alarm, surprise or impatience.^[15]
6. Presenting a fact as given: as it is, anyway: Je kunt het wel weggooien, ik gebruik het toch niet.^[15][1]
7. After a statement, asking for agreement: isn't it? right?: Je komt morgen ook, toch?^[15][1][12]
8. As you know, surely: Je weet toch dat ze verhuisd is?^[15][1]

Related words

• doch
• toen
• English though

Usage notes

In answer to a negative question, toch or, more usually today, toch wel contradicts it, like French si or German doch.^[2][1] An unrelated noun toch “pull, procession, train”, a form of tocht, is obsolete.^[2][7]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 l 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 Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
5. ^ a b c d Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
6. ^ Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 386
7. ^ a b c d Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
8. ^ Vercoullie, Jozef (1925), Beknopt etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 3rd ed., 's-Gravenhage / Gent: Nijhoff / Van Rysselberghe & Rombaut
9. ^ a b Haeringen, C. B. van (1936), Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal: Supplement, 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
10. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
11. ^ Veen, P. A. F. van; Sijs, Nicoline van der (1997), Etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van onze woorden, 2nd ed., Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Lexicografie
12. ^ a b c Reinsma, R. (1984), Neologismen, Utrecht: Spectrum
13. ^ Donselaar, J. van (1989), Woordenboek van het Surinaams-Nederlands, Muiderberg: Coutinho
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 Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
16. ^ WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org