Etymologically
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voelen

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈvulə(n)/[1]

Forms

voelen (past voelde, plural voelden; past participle gevoeld)[2][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch voelen, inherited from Old Dutch *fuolen, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *fōlijan, inherited from Proto-Germanic *fōlijan- (“to feel”).[3][1] The same verb is Old Saxon gifōlian, found only with a prefix, Old High German fuolen (modern German fühlen), Old Frisian fēla (modern West Frisian fiele) and Old English fēlan (modern English feel), all meaning “to perceive, to touch”.[3][4][5] Danish føle was borrowed from Middle Low German.[3]

The further origin is uncertain.[3][4] Kroonen calls the word etymologically obscure.[5] It is not certain that Old Norse falma (“to grope”) is related by ablaut.[3][5] The EWN considers a link with Old Church Slavonic пальць (palĭcĭ, “thumb, finger”) possible, from ⟨*pōl-⟩, and rules out the often-cited Old High German folma (“palm of the hand”) and Latin palma, since Germanic ⟨*fōl-⟩ cannot come from the root of those words.[3] Older dictionaries connect palpō (“to stroke”), which the EWN thinks is probably not even Indo-European.[6][7][8][3]

In Middle Dutch the prefixed gevoelen is recorded earlier and is more common.[3][9] It was used above all of inner perception, of pain, a smell or the nearness of God, while the simple verb was used for touching with the hand.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first records date from the early 14th century: a text of 1300–1325 says of a child that, when it began to feel the urge of youth, it went out into the world and took a wife.[3] A text of about 1400 has the physical sense: Hi voelde dat haer puls lijf sloech, “he felt that her pulse still beat with life”.[3]

Semantic evolution

Middle Dutch voelen meant to touch, to feel in body or mind, to hold an opinion and to understand.[9][1] The Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal notes that the word is well known but thinly attested in Middle Dutch.[10] In the last quarter of the 18th century it took on a strong emotional value, which it kept in the Romantic period, and Impressionism gave it a new impulse at the end of the 19th century.[10]

A 1532 Bible translation has Christ say ic voele dat een cracht van mi gegaen is, “I feel that power has gone out of me”.[10] Leven voelen, of a pregnant woman feeling the child move, is recorded in 1862.[10] The proverb wie niet horen wil, moet voelen, “who will not listen must feel”, said of punishment, matches German wer nicht hören will, muss fühlen.[11] Iemand de pols voelen, first said of a doctor, came to mean sounding someone out.[11][12]

In Jewish Dutch zich voelen meant to be full of oneself.[13] Danish and Norwegian føle may come from Dutch or Low German, and the verb passed into Negerhollands (voel, ful), Berbice Dutch (fulu), Papiamentu (fulá) and Afrikaans voel.[14][1]

Timeline

  • 1300–1325 – Middle Dutch voelen is first recorded.[3]
  • 1350 – Voelen “to perceive by touch” is dated.[15]
  • c. 1400 – A text speaks of feeling a pulse.[3]
  • 1451 – A Holland text has ic voel in mijn maghe humore, “I feel humours in my stomach”.[9]
  • 1532 – A Bible translation uses voelen for inner perception.[10]
  • 1862 – Leven voelen, of an unborn child moving, is recorded.[10]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To feel, to examine by touching: De dokter voelde of het been gebroken was.[12][1]
  2. To perceive through the senses: Ik voel de kou in mijn handen.[12][16]
  3. To experience an emotion: Ze voelde een diepe opluchting.[12][1]
  4. (reflexive) To feel, to be in a certain state: Hij voelt zich vandaag niet lekker.[1][16]
  5. To understand intuitively: Ik voel wel wat je bedoelt.[12]
  6. (intransitive) To give a certain feeling to the touch: Het water voelt koud.[12]

Word family

  • gevoelen
  • aanvoelen
  • bevoelen
  • meevoelen
  • voelbaar
  • voelhoorn
  • voelspriet
  • voorvoelen
  • voeler
  • voeling
  • gevoel

Usage notes

Iemand aan de tand voelen is to question someone closely.[12] Voel je hem?, “do you feel him?”, is a colloquial way of asking whether someone gets the point.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Algemeen Nederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; anw.ivdnt.org
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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. ^ a b Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  5. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  6. ^ Veen, P. A. F. van; Sijs, Nicoline van der (1997), Etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van onze woorden, 2nd ed., Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Lexicografie
  7. ^ Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 416
  8. ^ Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  9. ^ a b c Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
  10. ^ 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
  11. ^ a b Stoett, F. A. (1923–1925), Nederlandsche spreekwoorden, spreekwijzen, uitdrukkingen en gezegden, 4th ed., 3 vols., Zutphen: Thieme
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  13. ^ Kamp, Jacob van de; Wijk, Jacob van der (2006), Koosjer Nederlands: Joodse woorden in de Nederlandse taal, Amsterdam: Contact
  14. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  15. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  16. ^ a b WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org