vermoorden

Forms

vermoorden^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch vermorden, from Middle Dutch ver- + morden (“to murder”), the verb now spelled moorden with the prefix ver-.^[2][3][4][1] The same formation is Middle Low German vormorden and Middle High German vermürden (also ⟨vermorden⟩), while modern German uses ermorden.^[3][4]

The verb belongs to moord, which goes back through Old Dutch morth to Proto-Germanic *murþą (“murder”).^[5][6] The sense “murder” is specific to Germanic: the Indo-European source *mr-to- (“dead, mortal”) is an adjective, from the root *mer- (“to die”), as in Latin mortuus (“dead”), Ancient Greek βροτός (brotós, “mortal”) and Sanskrit अमृत (amṛ́ta, “immortal”).^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The verb is first recorded in West Flanders in 1285, in a rhymed Bible history: Die van ascalon hebbent vermord der iueden van harre pord 2,500, “those of Ascalon murdered 2,500 of the Jews of their town”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Middle Dutch used vermorden for killing treacherously or foully, and by extension for treating someone shamefully or ruining a thing: an early 14th-century Flemish text complains of poets who vraye ystoriën vermorden met sconen rime, “murder true histories with fine rhyme”.^[3] Kiliaan's dictionary glosses it with Latin trucidare.^[3]

The reflexive zich vermoorden meant to commit suicide (1542).^[4] The sense “to spoil, destroy” of physical things is long obsolete but survived in Flemish dialects, as did the similes zwijgen als vermoord, to be utterly silent, and schreeuwen of ge vermoord werd.^[4][7] The oath God, vermoord mij (als ik niet …)! began as a pious formula calling for instant punishment if one lied.^[8]

Timeline

• 1285 – Middle Dutch vermord “murdered” in West Flanders.^[2]
• 1301 – Vermorden of spoiling a true story with fine rhyme.^[3]
• 1542 – Reflexive haer vermoert “killed herself”.^[4]
• 1583 – Death boasts of having murdered many hundred thousand people.^[4]
• 1695 – Vermoorden van de landen “ruining the land” in a text on peat digging.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To murder, to kill deliberately and violently.^[7][9][1]
2. (figurative) To destroy, ruin or put an end to something.^[10][4]
3. (reflexive, dated) Zich vermoorden: to commit suicide.^[4]

Word family

• vermoording
• vermoorder

Related words

• moord
• moorden
• moordenaar
• English murder

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c 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
3. ^ a b c d e Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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
5. ^ a b 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
6. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
7. ^ a b Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
8. ^ Sterkenburg, P. G. J. van (2001), Vloeken: een cultuurbepaalde reactie op woede, irritatie en frustratie, 2nd ed., Den Haag: Sdu
9. ^ Algemeen Nederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; anw.ivdnt.org
10. ^ WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org