Etymologically

1800s

Dutch words first recorded in the 19th century

5 Dutch words whose earliest known written record dates from the 19th century, earliest first. Words dated only to part of the century follow the ones with a year.

  1. hallo

    1840

    It is probably borrowed from English hallo in its American use, taken over together with the telephone in the late 19th century. The Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal noted in 1897 that the word…

  2. baby

    1852

    It is borrowed from English baby (“infant, small child”). The English word is a pet form of babe, probably shortened from Middle English baban, a babbling word of the same kind as ⟨baba⟩, ⟨dada⟩…

  3. foto

    1895

    It is a shortening from Dutch photographie (“photograph”), the older form, from French photographie. The French word first meant the making of a picture by light (1834) and then the picture itself…

  4. auto

    1898

    It is borrowed from French auto, a shortening of automobile. The French word was first an adjective “self-propelled” (1861) and was used as a noun only as a shortening of voiture automobile…

  5. oké

    1899

    It is borrowed from English OK. The origin of the English word is not entirely certain. The Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal follows Allen Walker Read, who showed in 1963–1964 that ⟨o.k.⟩ first…

All Dutch words by century →