Etymologically
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toen

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Pronunciation

Forms

toen (adverb, conjunction)[1] Colloquial and regional toe exists beside toen, and some dialects have toens.[2] The older forms doe and doen are now obsolete.[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch doen, beside doe, inherited from Old Dutch thuo, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *þō (“then”).[3][1][4] The Old Dutch adverb arose from the instrumental case of the demonstrative pronoun treated under die.[3][5][6] The regular modern outcome would have been ⟨*doe⟩.[3] The ⟨-n⟩ of ⟨doen⟩ may come from dan.[3][7][1] Franck–Van Wijk and De Vries & De Tollenaere compare the ⟨-n⟩ of West Flemish joen (“you”) and German nun (“now”).[8][6]

The ⟨t-⟩ arose in set phrases after a voiceless consonant: ⟨ende doe(n)⟩ “and then” became ⟨enddoe(n)⟩ and ⟨entoe(n)⟩, and ⟨noch doe⟩ “even then” became nochtoe, as in toch.[3][2][5][8]

The same adverb is Old Saxon thō (Middle Low German ⟨dō⟩), Old High German duo and West Frisian doe, and Wiktionary also compares Luxembourgish dunn.[3][1] Old Frisian thā and Old English þā are shortened forms of ⟨*þō⟩, while Gothic 𐌸𐌴 (þē) continues an ablaut variant ⟨*þē⟩.[5][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old Dutch tho is recorded in 891–900 in tho gihelida ina use druhtin, “then our Lord healed him”.[3] The Wachtendonck Psalms have thia ic ne nam thuo fargalt, “what I did not take, I then repaid”, and around 1100 the Leiden Willeram uses tho as a conjunction: tho ich hiro gescriphta thurgh suoghta, tho uand ich minen wine, “when I searched through their writings, then I found my beloved”.[3][9]

Semantic evolution

Middle Dutch doe, doen served as an adverb, “at that time” and “next, thereupon”, and as a conjunction, “at the moment that”, “after” and even “because”.[10] Doen is recorded in 1271–1272, entoe in 1287 and free-standing toen in 1340–1360.[3] In writing entoe stayed rare, and toen spread quickly only in the 17th century, in the developing standard language.[3] It was rare in writing until the early 17th century, then used beside doe and doen, and has been the usual form since the 18th century.[2]

Van der Sijs dates the adverb toen to 1451–1500 and the conjunction to 1636.[11] The short form toe was never frequent in writing but became the normal form in Afrikaans.[3][1] The word also passed into Negerhollands (toen, die toen), Petjo and a German dialect.[12][1]

Timeline

  • 891–900 – Old Dutch tho “then” is first recorded.[3]
  • 901–1000 – Thuo appears in the Wachtendonck Psalms.[3]
  • c. 1100 – The Leiden Willeram uses tho as a conjunction.[3][9]
  • 1237 – Middle Dutch doe is recorded.[4]
  • 1271–1272 – The form doen appears.[3]
  • 1287 – Entoe “and then” is recorded.[3]
  • 1340–1360 – Free-standing toen appears.[3]
  • 1636 – Toen is recorded as a conjunction.[11]
  • 18th century – Toen becomes the usual written form.[2]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. then, at that moment (in the past): Toen pas begreep ik het.[13][1]
  2. Then, next, after that: En toen?, “and then what happened?”.[13]
  3. Back then, in those days: de jongens van toen.[1][2]

Conjunction

  1. when, at the time that (in the past): Toen ik klein was, woonden we in Gent.[13][1]

Word family

  • toenmalig
  • toentertijd
  • toenmaals
  • alstoen

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f 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 m n o p q 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 Veen, P. A. F. van; Sijs, Nicoline van der (1997), Etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van onze woorden, 2nd ed., Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Lexicografie
  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, p. 386
  7. ^ Haeringen, C. B. van (1936), Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal: Supplement, 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  8. ^ a b c Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  9. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
  10. ^ 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
  11. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  12. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  13. ^ a b c Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers