wie

Forms

wie (interrogative and relative pronoun; genitive wiens (masculine), wier (feminine and plural); formal object form wien)^[2][1] An old genitive wies survives in dialects.^[2] Eastern dialects say wee, and West Flemish wij.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch wie, inherited from Old Dutch wie, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *hwaʀ, inherited from Proto-Germanic *hwaz (“who”).^[1][3] The same pronoun is Old Saxon hwē, Old Frisian hwā (modern West Frisian wa), Old English hwā (modern English who) and Gothic 𐍈𐌰𐍃 (ƕas).^[4][3][5] Its Proto-Germanic source continues the interrogative stem Proto-Indo-European *kʷo-, also found in Sanskrit कः (káḥ, “who”), Lithuanian kàs (“who”), Latin quis (“who”) and Ancient Greek τίς (tís, “who”).^[4][6][3][7] Old High German wer (modern German wer) has a different vowel and goes back to Proto-Germanic *hwiz.^[4][3]

The Old Dutch and Old Saxon form with ⟨e⟩ does not match ⟨*hwaz⟩ directly, and the EWN, De Vries and the WNT think it probably a newer form made after die “that, who”.^[4][6][2][7] It may also go straight back to Proto-Germanic *hwēi, Proto-Indo-European *kʷē-i, the same formation as Latin quī (“who, which”) and Old Irish cía (“who”).^[4][6][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Wachtendonck Psalms of the 10th century ask uuie sal geuan mi fetheron also duuon, “who will give me wings like a dove?”.^[4][9] Old Dutch uses the word only in direct questions.^[9] Middle Dutch wie is first found in 1201–1225, in a Limburg text: “then it becomes clear who is truly a virgin”.^[4][10]

Semantic evolution

In Middle Dutch wie was both interrogative and relative: a rule of 1254 says wie dat ten clockeslaghe niet ne comd, “whoever is not there when the bell strikes”, must pay.^[4][10] The rare form we appears in 1240.^[4] The case forms developed separately: wiens as the newer masculine genitive, wier for the feminine and the plural, and wien as the dative and accusative;^[2] Hooft and Lambert ten Kate set them out in tables.^[2] In Flemish dialects wie can also stand for wat “what”.^[2]

The pronoun lives on in Afrikaans wie, in Negerhollands wie, awi and widi, and in Berbice Dutch wi.^[11][1]

Timeline

• 901–1000 – Uuie “who” appears in the Wachtendonck Psalms.^[4][12][9]
• 1201–1225 – Middle Dutch wie is recorded in Limburg.^[4][10]
• 1236 – Wien, as a relative, appears in a Ghent rule.^[4][10]
• 1254 – Wie dat “whoever” introduces a rule about lateness.^[4][10]
• 1635 – Hooft's tables of the case forms of wie are printed by Ten Kate.^[2]

Meanings

Pronoun

1. (interrogative) who, whom: Wie heeft er gebeld?^[13][1]
2. (relative, with the antecedent included) Whoever, the one who: Wie te laat komt, mist de trein.^[1][14]
3. (relative, after a preposition) Who, whom, referring to a person: de collega met wie ik samenwerk.^[1]
4. (indefinite, in wie dan ook) Anyone at all, no matter who.^[13]

Related words

• wat
• welk
• hoe
• waar
• wanneer
• English who
• German wer

Usage notes

Wien is formal or old-fashioned; ordinary Dutch uses wie as object too.^[2][1] Eastern Middle Dutch and modern Limburg and Hageland dialects also have an adverb wie “how, as”, the counterpart of German wie; it is a form of the word that standard Dutch has as hoe.^[10][2][15]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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
3. ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
4. ^ 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
5. ^ Veen, P. A. F. van; Sijs, Nicoline van der (1997), Etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van onze woorden, 2nd ed., Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Lexicografie
6. ^ a b c Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 438
8. ^ Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
9. ^ a b c Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
10. ^ a b c d e f 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
11. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
12. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
13. ^ a b Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
14. ^ WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org
15. ^ Weijnen, A. A. (2003), Etymologisch dialectwoordenboek, 2nd ed., Den Haag: Sdu