Etymology and origin of the Dutch word varen
varen1 fern
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Inherited
- First attested
- 814–820 Old Dutch place name Farnoth (copy of 941)
- Inherited from
- Proto-West Germanic *farn via Middle Dutch, Old Dutch
- Ultimate origin
- Proto-Indo-European *pornós
Pronunciation
- /ˈvaː.rə(n)/[1]
Forms
varen f or m (plural varens, diminutive varentje n)[1]
Etymology
The word for the plant is inherited from Middle Dutch varen, inherited from Old Dutch farna, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *farn, inherited from Proto-Germanic *farna- (“fern”).[2][1][3] The same word is Old Saxon farn (later varn), Old High German farn (modern German Farn), West Frisian fear and Old English fearn (modern English fern); it is not found in East or North Germanic.[2][4] The dialect by-form ⟨varem⟩, like faram, arose from assimilation of the /n/ to the labial at the start of the word.[4][5]
The plant is named after its feather-like leaves.[2][6] The EWN derives the word from Proto-Indo-European *(s)porH-no-, a form of a root meaning “to fly”, and compares Lithuanian spar̃nas (“wing”).[2][1] With other suffixes the same base gave Old Irish raith (“fern”) and Welsh rhedyn (“fern”), and with reduplication papártis (“fern”).[2][6][5]
Earliest recorded meaning
The word first appears in Old Dutch place names: Farnoth, modern Varent in East Flanders, with a collective suffix, in a record of 814–820 known from a copy of 941, and Varenberch “fern hill” in Limburg in 1129.[2] The first record of the common noun is a West Flemish gloss of 1226, filix: uaren, giving the Dutch for Latin filix “fern”.[7][2][8]
Semantic evolution
Early modern herbals use the word both for the whole class and for single kinds: a text of 1581 calls the royal fern Conincklijck Varen because of its excellent powers.[4] Ferns were gathered to stuff beds, as a text of 1624 describes.[4] From this a poet of 1822 used varen for a bed or mattress.[4] In Noord-Holland varen also named silverweed, a plant of the rose family, for a slight likeness of the leaves.[4]
A by-form vaar, from older vare, may have been drawn from varen taken as a plural.[4] In Afrikaans the word became varing.[1]
Timeline
- 814–820 – The Old Dutch place name Farnoth (Varent) is recorded, in a copy of 941.[2]
- 1129 – The place name Varenberch is recorded in Limburg.[2]
- 1226 – Uaren glosses Latin filix in West Flanders.[7][8]
- 1435 – Vaer, a by-form, is used of the plant.[4]
- 1581 – The royal fern is called Conincklijck Varen.[4]
- 1624 – Ferns are said to be picked to stuff beds.[4]
- 1822 – Varen is used in poetry for a bed.[4]
Meanings
Noun
Word family
- adelaarsvaren
- eikvaren
- koningsvaren
- boomvaren
- vogelnestvaren
- varenachtig
varen2 to sail
Etymology tree of varen2
From the same root · varen2
Pronunciation
- /ˈvaː.rə(n)/[1]
Forms
varen[1]
Etymology
The verb for going by boat is inherited from Middle Dutch varen (“to go, travel”), inherited from Old Dutch faran (“to go”), inherited from Proto-West Germanic *faran, inherited from Proto-Germanic *faraną (“to go, travel”).[2][1][3] The same verb is Old Saxon faran, Old High German faran (modern German fahren), Old Frisian fara, Old English faran (modern English fare), Old Norse fara and Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐍂𐌰𐌽 (faran), all meaning “to go, move”, with various derived senses.[2][6][3] Kroonen takes it as an o-grade “intensive-iterative” verb, Proto-Indo-European *pór-e-; its past tense with ⟨ō⟩ arose later, after the model of other verbs.[3]
It belongs to *per- (“to go through”), which also gave Latin portus (“harbour, refuge”) and Ancient Greek περάω (peráō, “to pass through”).[2][6][11] Dutch words of the same root are vaart, voeren “to carry” and voorde “ford”.[2][5]
Earliest recorded meaning
In the Wachtendonck Psalms of the 10th century faran means “to go, move”: an allero erthon fuor luit iro, “their sound went out over all the earth”.[2][12] The ONW notes that the modern sense, moving over water in a vessel, does not occur in Old Dutch.[12]
Semantic evolution
Like the verb in the other Germanic languages, Middle Dutch varen was very general: “to go, travel, happen”, as in hoe hebbedi geuaren sent “how have you fared since?” (1265–1270).[2] It was used of going by sea (1270–1290), riding in a wagon (1286) and cranes flying over the sea (1287), and, like gaan, as an auxiliary for something about to happen.[2] Wiktionary notes that the narrowing to travel on water came from the western dialects, while the general sense survives in the east; the WNT also says the boat sense first prevailed only in the West.[1][4] In German the same verb was narrowed to “to ride, drive”.[6]
In standard Dutch the other senses are now old, except in fixed phrases such as de duivel is in hem gevaren “he is furious”, iets laten varen “to give something up” and er wel bij varen “to do well out of it”.[2][9] Travel through the air was compared with sailing on open water, giving luchtvaart (1813), luchtschip (1823), ballonvaart (1911) and finally the simple verb varen of balloons (1936).[2]
The verb is strong, but Middle Dutch has an occasional weak form, and Plantijn in 1573 gives vaerde beside voer; the weak past survives only in dialects.[4] The word was borrowed into Negerhollands and Papiamentu as vaar, and Afrikaans has vaar.[13][1]
Timeline
- 901–1000 – Old Dutch faran “to go” appears in the Wachtendonck Psalms.[2][8][12]
- c. 1100 – Laaz ouch thinen niith faran, “let your enmity go too”, is written.[2]
- 1240 – Middle Dutch varen “to go” is first recorded.[2]
- 1265–1270 – Hoe hebbedi geuaren sent “how have you fared since?”[2]
- 1270–1290 – Varen vp die see “to sail on the sea” is recorded.[2]
- 1573 – Plantijn gives the weak past vaerde beside voer.[4]
- 1813 – Luchtvaart “aviation” is first recorded.[2]
- 1936 – Varen is used of travelling by balloon.[2]
Meanings
Verb
- Of a vessel: to move through the water.[9][10]
- To sail, to travel in a ship or boat.[9][10][1]
- To work as a sailor: hij vaart als stuurman “he sails as a mate”.[9][10]
- To fare: to come off well or badly, as in er wel bij varen.[10][1][2]
- (archaic) To go, as in ten hemel varen “to ascend to heaven” and alle hoop laten varen “to give up all hope”.[9]
- (eastern, archaic or dialectal) To travel over land, by bike, car or train.[1]
Word family
- vaart
- vaartuig
- vaarwater
- vaarder
- varensgast
- aanvaren
- afvaren
- bevaren
- doorvaren
- overvaren
- uitvaren
- wedervaren
- welvaren
- spelevaren
- ballonvaren
Related words
Usage notes
Flemish and Zeeland dialects have a third verb varen, “to seem strange, to disappoint” (dat zal hem varen).[14][15] It continues Middle Dutch varen “to fear”, related to the English verb fear, and is unrelated to the verb of travelling.[14][15] A Kempen saying plays on it and the fern: hij zal varen plukken, “it will disappoint him”.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 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
- ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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
- ^ a b c Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
- ^ a b c d e Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
- ^ a b 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
- ^ a b c Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
- ^ a b c d e f Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
- ^ a b c d e Algemeen Nederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; anw.ivdnt.org
- ^ WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
- ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
- ^ a b Debrabandere, Frans (2002), West-Vlaams etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van de West-Vlaamse woorden, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Atlas
- ^ a b Debrabandere, Frans (2007), Zeeuws etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van de Zeeuwse woorden, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Atlas
Related etymologies
Cite this entry
“Varen.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/nl/varen. Accessed 16 Nov. 2026.
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