vertellen

Forms

vertellen (past vertelde; past participle verteld)^[1][2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch vertellen, formed from Dutch ver- + tellen in the Middle Dutch sense of the verb “to say, tell”, which itself grew out of “to count, list the facts”.^[3][2][4][1] French raconter (“to tell”) beside conter, and German erzählen (“to tell”) beside zählen (“to count”), show the same development.^[3][5] The same formation is Middle Low German vortellen and Middle High German verteln, and Vercoullie compares Old Saxon fartellian.^[6][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A Limburg glossary of about 1240 renders Latin recensere “to enumerate” and narrare “to narrate” with vertellen.^[2][3] In a romance of 1260–1280, Alse her walewain sine auenture … hadde vertelt means “when Sir Walewein had told his adventure”.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

Middle Dutch vertellen meant “to enumerate”, “to narrate”, “to describe”, “to reveal” and “to say”.^[2] From tellen “to count” it also meant “to count again”, as of a merchant who doubts the count of his herring (1446), and “to ponder”.^[6] In early modern Dutch the main senses were “to narrate in detail” (from 1506) and “to inform, let know”, and a 1573 dictionary has reflexive zich vertellen, to miscount.^[7] An old sense “to pay out” is recorded in 1658.^[7] Fabeltjes vertellen is to tell someone tall stories.^[8]

The verb was borrowed into Danish (fortælle), Norwegian (fortelle) and Swedish (förtälja), from Dutch or Low German, into Sranan Tongo as ferteri, whence Surinamese Javanese fertéri, and into Negerhollands, Berbice Dutch and Javindo.^[9][1] It lives on in Afrikaans vertel.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 1240 – Vertellen glosses Latin recensere and narrare in a Limburg glossary.^[2][3]
• 1260–1280 – Vertelt “told” of an adventure, in a romance.^[3][2]
• 1446 – Vertellen “to count again” of herring.^[6]
• 1506 – The earliest quotation in the Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal, “to narrate”.^[7]
• 1573 – Vertellen “to miscount” in a dictionary.^[7]
• 1658 – Vertellen “to pay out”.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To tell, narrate, recount: Opa vertelde over de oorlog.^[8][7][1]
2. To tell, inform, let someone know: Wie heeft je dat verteld?^[7][8]
3. (reflexive) To miscount.^[1][7]

Word family

• verteller
• vertelling
• vertelsel
• vertelster
• doorvertellen
• navertellen
• vertelkunst

Related words

• tellen
• vertalen
• German erzählen

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g 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 f 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
4. ^ Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 408
5. ^ a b Vercoullie, Jozef (1925), Beknopt etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 3rd ed., 's-Gravenhage / Gent: Nijhoff / Van Rysselberghe & Rombaut
6. ^ a b c Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
7. ^ a b c d e f g h 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
8. ^ a b c Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
9. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)