tot

Forms

tot^[1] Regional tut is recorded at Zelhem, Kampen and Ruinen, and in an 18th-century farce as a mark of vulgar Amsterdam speech.^[2] Toet, recorded at Kruiningen, Ossendrecht and around Weert, is probably a blend of toe and tot.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch tote, inherited from Old Dutch tuote (“up to”), formed from Dutch toe + te in a combination whose mostly unstressed vowels were weakened and shortened.^{[3][4][5][6][7]} Related forms are Old Saxon tōte, Middle Low German tōte and Old Frisian tot, and Old High German zuoza has the same combination with full vowels.^[3][4][5][8]

Used as a conjunction meaning “until”, the word is short for totdat, with dat left out.^[2][5][3] Middle Dutch already used the shorter form in this way.^[2][5][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the 10th-century Wachtendonck Psalms the king shall rule “from the river up to the ends of the earth”: in fan fluode untes to te gemerke ringis erthono.^[9][3] The Old Dutch glosses collected by Lipsius also give tothiti for Latin apud “at”.^[9]

Semantic evolution

Middle Dutch used tote of time, as in tote nu “until now” (1236), and of place, as in toter erden “down to the ground” (1237).^[3][10] With people it marked direction, Die tote v sendde minen bode “who sent my messenger to you” (1265–1270), and it followed verbs of speaking.^[3][10] It could also mean “for the benefit of” (1295) and “belonging to” (1297), and its conjunction use is found in Bruges in 1277.^[3][10]

Older Dutch also used tot for “at”, as in tot Gent, but 17th-century grammarians drew an artificial line between tot and te.^[3] In the north, tot “to (a place or person)” is now formal, while Flemish uses it more widely, as in tot bij iemand gaan.^[2] In Suriname tot iemand spreken is ordinary speech, and a telephone call is answered with tot and one's name, short for u spreekt tot “you are speaking to”.^[11][1] As a noun, tot names the particle in noble titles: in 1878 Holland was mocked for its long names joined by vans en tots.^[2]

The word lives on in Afrikaans tot, Negerhollands (tot, tee) and Berbice Dutch (tutu).^[12][1]

Timeline

• 901–1000 – Old Dutch tuote “up to” appears in the Wachtendonck Psalms.^[9][13]
• 1236 – Middle Dutch tote nu “until now” is recorded.^[3][10]
• 1277 – Tote “until” is used as a conjunction in Bruges.^[10]
• 1297 – Tot “belonging to” appears.^[3]
• 1878 – The noun tot is used of the particle in noble titles.^[2]

Meanings

Preposition

1. as far as, up to: marking the furthest point: De weg loopt tot de rivier.^[14][1]
2. until: marking the end of a period.^[14][1] Ik werk tot vijf uur. Tot nu toe means so far, and tot ziens is “goodbye”.^[14][1]
3. Up to an amount or degree: Kinderen tot twaalf jaar mogen gratis naar binnen.^[14] Tot en met means up to and including.^[14]
4. To, towards a person or thing, in more formal language: Hij richtte zich tot de zaal.^[14][2]
5. For, as: marking purpose, result, or a new state or function: Ze werd tot voorzitter gekozen.^[14]

Conjunction

1. Until, till: Blijf binnen tot het ophoudt met regenen.^[1][2][15]

Word family

• totdat

Related words

• toe
• te

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 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 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. 388
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. ^ Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
9. ^ a b c Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
10. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ Donselaar, J. van (1989), Woordenboek van het Surinaams-Nederlands, Muiderberg: Coutinho
12. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
13. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
14. ^ a b c d e f g Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
15. ^ WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org