uur

Forms

uur n (plural uren, diminutive uurtje n)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch ure, borrowed from Latin hōra (“hour, twelfth part of the day; period, season”), an early loan.^[2][3][1] The Latin word was itself taken from Ancient Greek ὥρα (hṓra, “time, season, hour”) and is akin to jaar.^[2][1] In spoken Latin the classical ⟨ō⟩ was pronounced very close and fell together with ⟨ū⟩, which in Dutch did not become ⟨ui⟩ before ⟨r⟩.^[2] Franck–Van Wijk compare the vowel of kruin and moerbei.^[4]

De Vries, Franck–Van Wijk and Van der Sijs take the word from the Romance form ⟨ora⟩ or Old French ore rather than straight from Latin.^[5][4][6][7] The Philippa dictionary thinks at least the sense “point of time” came from French, where it was common early.^[2] From Old French also comes English hour.^[5][4] Middle Low German ure meant “clock” as well from 1531, and passed in that sense into German Uhr.^[5][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Middle Dutch ure is first recorded in the Limburg glossary of about 1240, where it glosses Latin hora, a twelfth part of the day between sunrise and sunset.^[2][8][6] In the Middle Ages day and night each had twelve hours, so their length changed with the seasons.^[8] By 1265–1270 the word also meant a moment, as in the hour of one's death.^[2][8]

Semantic evolution

In 13th-century texts ure is also a canonical hour of prayer, a point of time, and an occasion.^[8] An almanac of 1508 already counts 60 minutes in an hour, and a prayer of 1510 asks for help in die vre onser doot, “in the hour of our death”.^[3] An uur gaans, the distance one walks in an hour, appears in 1642.^[3] The longer form ure was used in all senses until the second half of the 19th century, and now survives only in set phrases such as te goeder ure.^[3]

Ter elfder ure, at the last moment, comes from the parable of the labourers in the vineyard (Matthew 20), where those hired at the eleventh hour are paid the same as the rest.^[9][10] Dutch Jews said in een goed uur zal ik het zeggen, “may the hour be favourable”, after a Yiddish expression.^[11][12]

Danish, Norwegian and Swedish ur “clock, watch” come from Dutch or Low German.^[13] Sranan Tongo yuru passed on into Saramaccan, Aukan and the Carib languages, Berbice Dutch had juru, and Afrikaans uur gave Xhosa yure and Tswana iri.^[13][1]

Timeline

• c. 1240 – Middle Dutch ure glosses Latin hora in Limburg.^[2][8][6]
• 1265–1270 – Ure in the sense “moment, hour of death”.^[2]
• 1508 – An hour is reckoned at 60 minutes.^[3]
• 1531 – Middle Low German ure also means “clock”.^[5][4]
• 1642 – Uren gaans “hours' walk” as a measure of distance.^[3]
• second half of the 19th century – The form ure gives way to uur outside set phrases.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. An hour, a twenty-fourth part of a day, sixty minutes.^[14][15][1]
2. Another set period of time, such as a lesson: Het eerste uur hebben we wiskunde.^[14]
3. The time shown on the clock, o'clock: om drie uur.^[14][1]
4. A moment, a point in time: zijn uur is gekomen, he is about to die.^[14][16]
5. A measure of distance, as far as one walks or rides in an hour.^[14][3]

Word family

• kilowattuur
• lesuur
• spitsuur
• spreekuur
• tussenuur
• urenlang
• uurloon
• uurtarief
• uurwerk
• uurlijks

Related words

• jaar
• English hour
• German Uhr

Usage notes

Een uur in de wind stinken is to stink terribly.^[14] In older Dutch the word was feminine, de ure; it is now neuter, het uur.^[5][4][3] A dialect uur “udder” is a form of uier.^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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
4. ^ a b c d e f Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
5. ^ a b c d e Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
6. ^ a b c Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
7. ^ Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 396
8. ^ 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
9. ^ Stoett, F. A. (1923–1925), Nederlandsche spreekwoorden, spreekwijzen, uitdrukkingen en gezegden, 4th ed., 3 vols., Zutphen: Thieme
10. ^ Vercoullie, Jozef (1925), Beknopt etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 3rd ed., 's-Gravenhage / Gent: Nijhoff / Van Rysselberghe & Rombaut
11. ^ Kamp, Jacob van de; Wijk, Jacob van der (2006), Koosjer Nederlands: Joodse woorden in de Nederlandse taal, Amsterdam: Contact
12. ^ Beem, H. (1975), Resten van een taal: woordenboekje van het Nederlandse Jiddisch, Assen: Van Gorcum
13. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
14. ^ a b c d e f Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
15. ^ Algemeen Nederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; anw.ivdnt.org
16. ^ WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org