Dutch words from Latin
18 Dutch words with Latin in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages.
dokter
It is a Dutch adaptation of doctor, inherited from Middle Dutch doctoor (“scholar, teacher”), borrowed from Latin doctor (“teacher”), an agent noun of doceō (“to teach”). In Latin the title was used…
familie
It is inherited from Middle Dutch familie, borrowed from Latin familia (“household, including the slaves”), formed from famulus (“servant”), whose further origin is unknown. The Middelnederlandsch…
idee
It is inherited from Middle Dutch idee, borrowed from Old French idee, from Latin idea (“idea, archetype”), from Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “appearance, form, notion”). French had the word from 1119…
juist
It is inherited from Middle Dutch juust, borrowed from Old French juste (“exact, right”), from Latin iūstus (“just, righteous”), a derivative of iūs (“right, law”). The French adjective meant…
kamer
It is inherited from Middle Dutch camere, inherited from Old Dutch *kamara, borrowed from Latin camera (“vault; room”), which Latin had taken from Ancient Greek καμάρα (kamára, “covered wagon…
klaar
It is inherited from Middle Dutch claer, borrowed from Latin clārus (“bright, clear, famous”). Van der Sijs gives Old French clar as a possible source beside the Latin word, and Franck–Van Wijk…
minuut
It is inherited from Middle Dutch minute, borrowed from Middle French minute, borrowed from Medieval Latin minūta (“unit of time”) (the Philippa dictionary leaves open whether French was the…
mis
1. The Mass is inherited from Middle Dutch misse, borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin missa (“Mass”), a Christian Latin word first found in 385. The Middle Dutch form ⟨messe⟩ is explained by De Vries…
ons
1. The pronoun is inherited from Middle Dutch ons, inherited from Old Dutch uns, inherited from Proto-Germanic *uns (“us”). The same word is Old Saxon ūs, Old High German uns (modern German uns)…
paar
It is inherited from Middle Dutch paer, borrowed from Latin pār (“a pair; an equal”), the noun use of the adjective pār (“equal”), whose further origin is unknown. The same loan is Middle Low German…
pijn
It is inherited from Middle Dutch pîne, inherited from Old Dutch pīna (“punishment; suffering”), borrowed from Late Latin pēna, a Christian term borrowed from the Church's word for punishment…
precies
It is borrowed from Middle French precis (“exact, precise”) (modern French précis, recorded in French from 1377), from Medieval Latin precisus (“compressed, concise”). Van Veen and Van der Sijs and…
proberen
It is inherited from Middle Dutch proberen (“to prove”), borrowed from Latin probō (“to test, approve, prove”), with the verb ending -eren. The Latin verb is a derivative of probus (“tested, good…
probleem
It is borrowed from Latin problēma (“task, problem”), borrowed from Ancient Greek πρόβλημα (próblēma, “problem, obstacle, question to be solved”), literally “what is put forward”. The Greek noun…
school
1. The educational institution is inherited from Middle Dutch schole, borrowed from Latin schola (“school”), which is borrowed from Ancient Greek σχολή (skholḗ, “school; earlier leisure spent in…
schrijven
It is inherited from Middle Dutch scrîven, inherited from Old Dutch skrīvan, borrowed from Latin scrībō (“to write”), an early loan made when the Germanic peoples took over the Roman way of writing…
uur
It is inherited from Middle Dutch ure, borrowed from Latin hōra (“hour, twelfth part of the day; period, season”), an early loan. The Latin word was itself taken from Ancient Greek ὥρα (hṓra, “time…
zeker
It is inherited from Middle Dutch sēker, inherited from Old Dutch *sikur, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *sikur (“free, secure”), borrowed from Latin sēcūrus (“free from care, safe”). The Latin…