zich

Forms

zich^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch sich, borrowed from Middle High German sich: the word is not native to most of Dutch but spread into the standard language from the east under High German influence.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} The MNW thinks it came from a Middle Franconian dialect.^[6] The Old Dutch texts that have sig are strongly coloured by High German and say nothing about the general language.^[2][1]

The pronoun was originally the accusative of the reflexive pronoun of the third person, from the stem Proto-Indo-European *se-.^[2][4][7] Germanic gave it the ending ⟨-k⟩ after the accusative of the first person, ⟨*mik⟩, which in turn took it from the nominative ik.^[2] The same word is Old Saxon sik, Old High German sih (modern German sich), Old Frisian sik, Old Norse sik and Gothic 𐍃𐌹𐌺 (sik), from Proto-Germanic *sik.^[2][1][8] Outside Germanic the stem is in Latin sē and sibi (“to oneself”), Ancient Greek σφι (sphi, “themselves, them”) and Lithuanian -si.^[4][8][5]

Middle Dutch had no reflexive pronoun of its own and used the personal pronoun, hem or haer, strengthened if need be with selven.^[2][6] The native West Low Franconian accusative si is rare and eastern, and the Low German form sik is found in the north-east and survives around Meppel in ⟨be-sik⟩ “apart”.^[6][8][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Wachtendonck Psalms of the 10th century have bergin salun sig “they shall hide themselves”, and noh ne ist the sig geberge fan hitte sinro “nor is there any who hides himself from his heat”.^[2][9] In Middle Dutch the pronoun appears in Limburg in 1200 and around 1201–1225 in the romance of Floyris, where a young lord deckete sic, covered himself, with flowers.^[10][2][7]

Semantic evolution

In charters sich appears in the south-east in the 13th century, in Gelderland in the 14th and in Utrecht in the 15th; from the second half of the 14th century north-eastern texts have it too, later also in the Low German form sick.^[2][5] In the 16th century it spread west, above all through Reformation writings, and in the 17th century leading authors, Bible translators and grammarians chose sich, later zich.^[2][5][4] The States Bible still shows the old state of things: sich is used for the masculine and neuter singular, but beside haer it is the minority form in the masculine plural and it is almost absent from the feminine.^[5] The EWN suggests that large-scale immigration of Germans and eastern Dutch into Holland also played a part.^[2]

In the dialects zich is much less widespread, and the people of West Flanders did not know it in the 19th century.^[2][6] Spoken Dutch still uses hem and the younger z'n eigen in its place.^[2][3][8] With polite u as its antecedent, zich also serves as a reflexive of the second person, as in a quotation of 1901, Heeft u zich gisteren nog al geamuzeerd, tante Constance?^[5]

Timeline

• 901–1000 – Old Dutch sig in the Wachtendonck Psalms.^[2][11]
• c. 1100 – Sich in the Leiden Willeram.^[2][9]
• 1201–1225 – Middle Dutch sic in Floyris, from the Lower Rhine.^[2][10]
• 13th century – Sich in south-eastern charters.^[2][5]
• 14th century – Sich in Gelderland charters.^[2][5]
• 15th century – Sich in Utrecht.^[2][5]
• 1552 – Wie sich steelens troost, the WNT's first modern quotation.^[5]
• 17th century – Zich becomes part of the general language.^[2][5]

Meanings

Pronoun

1. Reflexive pronoun of the third person, singular and plural: himself, herself, itself, themselves, oneself: Ze kleedde zich snel aan.^[12][1][13]
2. Reflexive pronoun with polite u: yourself, yourselves: Heeft u zich al aangemeld?^[12][1][5]
3. With verbs that are always or usually reflexive, marking that the action stays with the subject: Hij vergist zich.^[5][1]

Word family

• zichzelf

Related words

• hem
• zijn²
• German sich

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 k l m n o p q r s t 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
3. ^ a b Veen, P. A. F. van; Sijs, Nicoline van der (1997), Etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van onze woorden, 2nd ed., Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Lexicografie
4. ^ a b c d e Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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
6. ^ a b c d Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
7. ^ a b Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 455
8. ^ a b c d Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
9. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
10. ^ a b 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 (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
12. ^ a b Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
13. ^ WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org