Etymologically
Log in

veel

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 21 October 2026 at 15:17. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

Forms

veel (comparative meer, superlative meest)[1] Many eastern and southern dialects have the rounded form veul.[2][3] The comparative and superlative come from another stem, meer and meest, though a regional veulste was recorded in the Neder-Betuwe in 1885.[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch vele, inherited from Old Dutch filo, inherited from Proto-Germanic *felu (“much, a lot”).[4][1][5] The same word is Old Saxon filu, Old High German filu (modern German viel), Old Frisian felo, Old English fela, Old Norse fjǫl- (only in compounds) and Gothic 𐍆𐌹𐌻𐌿 (filu).[4][2][6][5] Outside Germanic it is related to Ancient Greek πολύς (polús, “much”), Sanskrit पुरु (purú, “much”) and Old Irish il (“much”).[4][2][7][8] They go back to Proto-Indo-European *pélh₁u-, a ⟨u⟩-stem of the root *pleh₁- (“to fill”), which also gave vol.[4][5][7]

Kroonen explains the vowel difference between the Greek and the Germanic forms by an ablauting Indo-European paradigm, and thinks the Proto-Germanic word was at first used only in the neuter, followed by a noun in the genitive.[5] He takes Old Frisian ⟨fule⟩ and the Dutch dialect form ⟨veul⟩ to continue the zero grade of the root.[5] Van Ginneken thought instead that rounded forms of this kind spread from South Holland.[2]

The word was at first a noun meaning “a large quantity”, followed by a partitive genitive and later by a phrase with van.[4] In that use it is now treated as an indefinite numeral.[4] Early on it also took on a weakened adverbial sense “to a great degree”, first with adjectives and adverbs and later with verbs, as in the other continental West Germanic languages.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The oldest Dutch records are 10th-century adverbial compounds in the Wachtendonck Psalms, filohardo “very violently” and filoberht “very bright”.[4][9] The noun filo “a great number” appears around 1100 in the Egmond copy of Williram's paraphrase of the Song of Songs, which speaks of pomegranates “that have many seeds” (thie uilo cornelino hauent).[4][10] Middle Dutch vele is recorded in Ghent in 1236.[11]

Semantic evolution

In Middle Dutch the adverb could also mean “often”: a health rule of 1253 advises Slap luttel ende bade vele, “sleep little and bathe often”.[4][11] With a comparative it meant “much”, as in vele bat dan “much better than” (1265–1270), and the shortened form veel appears in the last quarter of the 13th century.[4] From it were formed veelal “usually” (1475), with al as an intensifier, and veeleer “rather” (1573), with eer in the sense “sooner”.[4]

The Amsterdam Jewish saying weet ik veel! “what do I know!”, used to say that one knows little about a matter or does not want to discuss it, was recorded by Stoett, with examples from the early 20th century.[12]

Dutch speakers took the word abroad: it lives on in Afrikaans veel, and in Negerhollands veel, Berbice Dutch fele and Javindo feel or peel.[13][1]

Timeline

  • 901–1000 – Old Dutch filo appears in the compounds filohardo and filoberht in the Wachtendonck Psalms.[4][9]
  • c. 1100 – The noun filo “a great number” is recorded in Williram's Song of Songs paraphrase.[10][4]
  • 1236 – Middle Dutch vele “many” is recorded in Ghent.[11]
  • 1253 – Vele is used in the sense “often”.[4][11]
  • 1276–1300 – The shortened form appears in met veel lieden “with many people”.[4]
  • 1475 – Veelal “usually” is first recorded.[4]
  • 1573 – Veeleer “rather” is first recorded.[4]

Meanings

Determiner

  1. much, many, a lot of: a large quantity or number of: Er stonden veel fietsen voor de deur.[14][1][15]

Pronoun

  1. Much, a lot; in the plural velen, many people.[14][1] Hij weet veel van vogels. Te veel van het goede is more than is needed or wanted.[14]

Adverb

  1. To a great extent, much: Dit huis is veel groter.[14][1]
  2. often, frequently: We gaan veel naar de bioscoop.[14][1][16]

Word family

  • vervelen
  • veelgebruikt
  • veelheid
  • veelte
  • velerlei
  • evenveel
  • hoeveel
  • zoveel
  • veelhoek
  • veelvlak
  • veelzeggend
  • veelschrijver
  • veelwijverij
  • veelbelovend
  • veelal
  • veeleer

Usage notes

Veel van iemand hebben is to look or be very like someone.[14] The archaic and poetic noun veel “fiddle” is a separate word, a contracted form of vedel: it was the usual northern form in the 17th and 18th centuries and later survived only in verse, for rhyme or metre.[3][1] In Brabant and Limburg dialects veel is also a form of veil “ivy”.[17][18]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  3. ^ a b c 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 g h i j k l m n o p q r 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
  5. ^ a b c d e Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  6. ^ Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  7. ^ a b 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. ^ Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 400
  9. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  10. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
  11. ^ a b c d 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. ^ Stoett, F. A. (1923–1925), Nederlandsche spreekwoorden, spreekwijzen, uitdrukkingen en gezegden, 4th ed., 3 vols., Zutphen: Thieme
  13. ^ 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
  17. ^ Debrabandere, Frans (2010), Brabants etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van de woordenschat van Antwerpen, Brussel, Noord-Brabant en Vlaams-Brabant, Zwolle: Wbooks
  18. ^ Debrabandere, Frans (2011), Limburgs etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van de woorden uit beide Limburgen, Zwolle: Wbooks