uw

Forms

uw (dependent possessive, independent possessive uwe)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch uwe, inherited from Old Dutch iuwa (“your (plural)”), inherited from Proto-West Germanic *iuwar, inherited from Proto-Germanic *izweraz.^[2][1][3] It was the possessive that belonged to the Middle Dutch pronoun ghi, modern gij, which originally meant “you (plural)”, so that ⟨uwe⟩ meant “of you (all)”.^[2] It grew out of the genitive of that pronoun, Middle Dutch uwer.^[4][3][5]

The same word is Old Saxon iuwa (also ⟨euwa⟩), Old High German iuwēr (modern German euer), Old Frisian iuwe, Old English ēower (modern English your), Old Norse yðvarr and Gothic 𐌹𐌶𐍅𐌰𐍂 (izwar).^[6][4][7] The Gothic and Norse forms keep the oldest shape, with ⟨z⟩ (Norse ⟨ð⟩), and in West Germanic this consonant seems to have been lost, though how is hard to say.^[7][8] Outside Germanic the word is compared with Old Irish sí (“you (plural)”), from ⟨*eswe⟩.^[4][7]

⟨Uwe⟩ was the regular Middle Dutch form, and in the west it gave ⟨juwe⟩, the later jouw.^[2] Where no ending followed, a short form ⟨u⟩ arose already in the 13th century and spread.^[2] As the case endings were lost, ⟨uwe⟩ and the inflected ⟨uwer, uwen, uwes⟩ gave way to ⟨uw⟩, which in writing also ousted ⟨u⟩, perhaps helped by the wish to keep the possessive apart from the subject pronoun u that arose in the 17th century.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old Dutch iuwa is found in the Wachtendonck Psalms of the 10th century, always after its noun, as in sal sela iuuua “your soul shall (live)”, addressed to many.^[3][2] The first Middle Dutch records date from 1201–1225, as in vwe amíe blantsefluor “your (plural) friend Blanchefleur”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The meaning followed that of gij: in the Middle Dutch period gij came to be used for one person as well as for several, and in the north it was later narrowed to a polite form, so uw too became the possessive for one or more people addressed politely.^[2] Plantijn's dictionary still gives uwe and iuwe side by side as translations of French vostre.^[5] When the polite subject pronoun u arose in the 17th century, uw became its possessive; in Belgium it is also the possessive of gij.^[2][9][10]

Older titles keep it, such as Uwe Genade “Your Grace” for lesser princes, and a letter could end geheel de uwe “entirely yours”.^[9] Chinese Malay borrowed it as u.^[11]

Timeline

• 901–1000 – Old Dutch iuwa appears in the Wachtendonck Psalms.^[3][12]
• 1201–1225 – Middle Dutch uwe is first recorded.^[2]
• 1220–1240 – úwen spere “your spears” appears in the romance of Floris.^[2]
• 1251–1275 – The short form u is recorded in al v recht “all your right”.^[2]
• 1573 – Plantijn's dictionary gives uwe beside iuwe.^[5]
• 17th century – The subject pronoun u arises, and uw becomes its possessive.^[2]

Meanings

Determiner

1. your: the possessive of the polite u, for one person or several: Mag ik uw paspoort zien?^[9][1][10]
2. (Belgium, formal) The possessive of gij.^[9][10]
3. de uwe, het uwe: yours, used without a noun.^[9][1]

Related words

• jouw
• u
• gij
• English your
• German euer

Usage notes

In older writing the polite possessive was often spelled with a capital, Uw.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
4. ^ a b c 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 Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
6. ^ Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b c Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 396
8. ^ Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
9. ^ a b c d e Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
10. ^ a b c WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org
11. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
12. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen