Etymologically
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zelf

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Pronunciation

Forms

zelf[1] Older and regional forms are zelve, the oldest, inflected as a weak adjective and still southern and solemn, zelfs, zelver and zelven.[2] Zelf arose from zelve by loss of the final vowel, already in Middle Dutch.[2] Zeeland dialects have zelft, eastern dialects zulf and zölf.[2] Colloquial spellings are zellef and zelluf.[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch selve, inherited from Old Dutch self, inherited from Proto-Germanic *selbaz (“self”).[3][1][4] The same word is Old Saxon selƀo, Old High German selbo (modern German selbst and selber), Old Frisian selva, Old English selfa (modern English self), Old Norse sjálfr and Gothic 𐍃𐌹𐌻𐌱𐌰 (silba).[3][5][4] Modern West Frisian sels comes from a genitive selves.[3]

Its further origin is unclear.[3][4] The only possible relative outside Germanic is Venetic sselboisselboi (“to oneself”) on an inscription, but the reading of that inscription is very uncertain.[3][5][4] Most scholars derive the word from Proto-Indo-European *se-l-bʰo-, with the pronoun stem of zich.[3][6][5] Vercoullie and Kluge take the first part as the root *selh₁- (“to take”), the source of Latin cōnsulō (“to deliberate”), Ancient Greek ἑλεῖν (heleîn, “to take”), Old Irish selb (“possession”) and of *saljaną (“to hand over”) (as in sell and 𐍃𐌰𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (saljan, “to offer”)).[3][7] A proposal to see in it the reflexive stem with *lība- (“body”) (as in lijf), “in one's own person”, is unlikely.[3][2]

At first the word only stressed a person, as it still does; continental West Germanic soon also used it, after an article, for a thing already mentioned, the job that zelfde has taken over.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old Dutch self first appears in the Wachtendonck Psalms of the 10th century, where men selua “themselves” deceive out of idleness, and in an sig seluon “on themselves”.[3][8][9] Middle Dutch selve is recorded in 1200, in dines selues selecheit “your own bliss”, and the shorter self in a text of 1284–1287 that names a man self rechtere “himself judge”.[3][10]

Semantic evolution

In Middle Dutch the genitive gave sijns selfs sijn, to be one's own master, also “to be of age”, like Latin sui iuris esse.[11] The grammarian Van Heule noted in 1625 that one could say zelve, zelfs, zelf or zelver.[2] The genitive-like form became zelfs “even”.[1][2]

As the first part of compounds zelf- forms many words for acts done to or by oneself, such as zelfmoord and zelfstandig, and in depth psychology het zelf is the innermost self.[2][12]

The word passed into Javindo as sellef, into Negerhollands as self and sel, into Berbice Dutch as selfu and into Sranan Tongo as srefi.[13][1]

Timeline

  • 901–1000 – Old Dutch selua “themselves” in the Wachtendonck Psalms.[3][9]
  • 1200 – Middle Dutch selue is first recorded.[3][10]
  • 1236 – Sins selues leden “his own kin”.[3][10]
  • 1284–1287 – The short form self appears.[3][10]
  • 1625 – Van Heule lists zelve, zelfs, zelf and zelver.[2]

Meanings

Pronoun

  1. oneself, in person, used to stress who is meant: ik heb het zelf gezien.[12][1]
  2. After a noun, the thing itself as opposed to something else: het dorp zelf is klein.[12][14]
  3. By oneself, without help: ze maakt haar kleren zelf.[1]

Noun

  1. The self, one's identity; in depth psychology and mysticism the innermost reality of the soul.[12][1][14]

Word family

  • zichzelf
  • vanzelf
  • jezelf
  • zelfkant
  • zelfmoord
  • zelfstandig
  • zelfzucht

Usage notes

Zeg nou zelf asks for agreement with something obvious, and al zeg ik het zelf means “though I say so myself”.[12]

A different regional zelf or selve means “sage”: it is an early borrowing of Latin salvia, recorded in Middle Dutch as salve in 1240 and still used in eastern and southern dialects.[10][11][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 e f g h i j k l m n o 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 c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  6. ^ Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  7. ^ Vercoullie, Jozef (1925), Beknopt etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 3rd ed., 's-Gravenhage / Gent: Nijhoff / Van Rysselberghe & Rombaut
  8. ^ Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
  9. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  10. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ a b Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
  12. ^ a b c d e Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  13. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  14. ^ a b WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org