vallen

Forms

vallen^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch vallen, inherited from Old Dutch fallan, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *fallan, inherited from Proto-Germanic *fallaną (“to fall”).^[2][1][3] The same verb is Old Saxon fallan, Old High German fallan (modern German fallen), Old Frisian falla (modern West Frisian falle), Old English feallan (modern English fall) and Old Norse falla, all meaning “to fall”; the Gothic verb was 𐌳𐍂𐌹𐌿𐍃𐌰𐌽 (driusan, “to fall”).^[2][4][5][6] The causative is vellen, and val is the noun.^[2][3] The double ⟨ll⟩ of this old reduplicating verb comes from a present suffix ⟨-n-⟩ assimilated to the ⟨l⟩ before it.^[2][4][6]

Outside Germanic the verb is related to Lithuanian pùlti (“to fall”) and Old Armenian փլանիմ (pʻlanim, “I fall”).^[2][4][7] The Philippa dictionary does not derive it from a root Proto-Indo-European *peh₃lH- (“to fall”), as the Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben does, but follows Neri (2007), who analyses it as the adverb *h₂pó (“off”) joined to the root *h₃elh₁- (“to fall”);^[2][3] Kroonen agrees.^[2][3] On that view Latin dēleō (“to destroy”), aboleō (“to destroy”) and Ancient Greek ἀπόλλυμι (apóllūmi, “to destroy, kill”) are related too.^[2][1] Franck–Van Wijk reject the old comparison with fallō (“to deceive”), whose ⟨f⟩ cannot continue the sound required.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old Dutch fallan first appears in the Wachtendonck Psalms of the 10th century: the wicked dug a pit before the psalmist and fielon “fell” into it themselves, and the Moors fallon sulun “shall fall down”.^[2][9][10] In Middle Dutch a text of 1236 has blood that falls from lips onto clothes, and in the same year the figurative sense “to fall into a state”, of falling into deadly sins.^[2][11]

Semantic evolution

The verb of motion developed many senses early: by 1265–1270 het es geuallen meant “it happened”.^[2] The 13th-century texts already use it of falling in battle, of birds caught in a snare and of falling into someone's trap.^[11] Many senses passed to derivatives: aanvallen “to attack”, bevallen “to give birth” and “to please”, geval “case, event” and toeval “chance”.^[2] The Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal thinks that Latin cadō and French tomber influenced the way the meanings grew, and De Vreese took buiten iemands bereik vallen “to be beyond someone's reach” as a gallicism.^[6][12]

The proverb een boom valt niet met de eerste slag, that a hard task is not done at once, is already Middle Dutch, and the same saying is known in Medieval Latin, French, German and English.^[13] In the 20th century op iemand vallen came to mean “to fall for someone”.^[14]

The verb went into Negerhollands as val and into Berbice Dutch as falu;^[15][1] Afrikaans has val.^[15][1]

Timeline

• 901–1000 – Old Dutch fielon “fell” in the Wachtendonck Psalms.^[2][10]
• c. 1200 – Middle Dutch vallen is first recorded, in Limburg.^[11][16]
• 1236 – Blood falls from lips, and a man falls into deadly sins.^[2][11]
• 1240 – Vallen glosses Latin cadere in a Limburg word list.^[11]
• 1265–1270 – Het es geuallen “it happened”.^[2]
• 1526 – The crumbs that fall from their masters' table, in a Bible translation.^[6]
• 1736 – A physics book says that bodies fall at different speeds because of the resistance of the air.^[6]

Meanings

Verb

1. To fall, to come down through the air by gravity.^[17][1]
2. To fall over, to come to the ground by accident: ze viel van de trap.^[17]
3. To come into a position or state: in slaap vallen, to fall asleep.^[17]
4. To fall on a date: Pasen valt vroeg dit jaar.^[17][1]
5. Of hair or cloth: to hang loosely.^[17][18]
6. To begin, to set in: de avond valt, night falls.^[17][1]
7. (formal) To be killed in battle; of a government, to resign before its term.^[17][18]
8. To be received in a certain way: dat viel niet goed.^[17][1]
9. To be dropped or lost: het plan liet hij vallen.^[17]
10. To go down, to sink, as the tide.^[17]
11. (with te) To be possible: er valt niets meer aan te doen.^[1][18]
12. (nautical) Of a sailing ship: to fall off from the wind.^[17]

Word family

• val
• valreep
• valhelm
• valscherm
• aanvallen
• bevallen
• invallen
• meevallen
• tegenvallen
• opvallen
• toevallen
• geval
• toeval

Related words

• vellen
• English fall
• German fallen

Usage notes

The verb takes zijn as its auxiliary; in some dialects hebben was used too, and in Middle Dutch hebben was common when the action itself was meant.^[6][5] Curses with vallen, such as val dood!, mean “drop dead!”.^[19] In Surinamese Dutch a cake that sinks in the oven valt.^[20]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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 Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
5. ^ a b Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
6. ^ 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
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. ^ Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
9. ^ Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
10. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
11. ^ 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
12. ^ Vreese, Willem de (1899), Gallicismen in het Zuidnederlandsch, Gent: Siffer
13. ^ Stoett, F. A. (1923–1925), Nederlandsche spreekwoorden, spreekwijzen, uitdrukkingen en gezegden, 4th ed., 3 vols., Zutphen: Thieme
14. ^ Reinsma, R. (1975), Signalement van nieuwe woorden, Amsterdam: Elsevier
15. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
16. ^ Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 398
17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
18. ^ a b c WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org
19. ^ Sterkenburg, P. G. J. van (2001), Vloeken: een cultuurbepaalde reactie op woede, irritatie en frustratie, 2nd ed., Den Haag: Sdu
20. ^ Donselaar, J. van (1989), Woordenboek van het Surinaams-Nederlands, Muiderberg: Coutinho