Etymologically
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zien

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Pronunciation

Forms

zien (past zag, plural zagen; past participle gezien)[1][2] Older sources and dialects in Limburg, Gelderland, Overijssel and Zeeland have zijen.[2] The old imperative zich survives in some dialects.[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch sien, inherited from Old Dutch sian, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *sehwan, inherited from Proto-Germanic *sehwan-.[3][1][4] The same verb is Old Saxon sehan, Old High German sehan (modern German sehen), Old Frisian siā (modern West Frisian sjen), Old English sēon (modern English see), Old Norse sjá and Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐍈𐌰𐌽 (saihwan).[3][4]

It probably goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ-, also behind Old Irish rosc (“eye”), Hittite šakuwa (“eyes”) and Tocharian A šotre (“sign”).[3][5] Albanian soh (“I see”) and Russian со́кол (sókol, “falcon”) have been compared with doubt.[6][7][8] Two other groups of words are traced to a root of the same shape: one meaning “to follow”, with Latin sequor, Ancient Greek ἕπομαι (hépomai) and Sanskrit सचते (sácate, “accompanies”), and one meaning “to tell”, for which see zeggen.[3][2] Whether they belong together is unclear.[3] The older view that “to see” developed from “to follow with the eyes”, perhaps from the hunter tracking game, is unlikely to the EWN, since so basic a verb is not likely to come from the more abstract one.[3][8][9] Bjorvand and Lindeman instead derive it from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ- (“eye”) (see oog) with an added ⟨s-⟩.[3]

The infinitive and the present lost the Germanic ⟨*h⟩ between vowels, which then merged.[2][1] The past kept ⟨g⟩, the grammatical alternation of Verner's law, as do zicht and gezicht.[1][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old Dutch sian is recorded in the Willeram of about 1100, in wa her seluo ... sihet uz then uenstron, where he himself looks out of the windows, and ich ther ... siho ouch uilo uasso, I who also see very sharply.[3][10] The first Middle Dutch record is in the Limburg life of Saint Servatius (1200): people [g]esien hadden di teiken, who had seen the signs.[3][11][12]

Semantic evolution

Already in Old Dutch sian meant to see, to notice and to have sight.[10] Middle Dutch added to look (Siet op mi, “look at me”, 1265–1270), to give a view of, to keep watch over, to experience, to visit and to see to something.[3][12] The WNT treats the infinitive used as a noun and the participles used as adjectives in the same article.[2]

Van Dale lists idioms such as geen been zien in iets, not to shrink from something, geen brood zien in iets, to expect no profit from it, and Abraham gezien hebben, to be over fifty.[13] The Flemish use of zien for inzien, as in ik zie niet waarom, was criticised as an imitation of French voir.[14]

Afrikaans and Javindo have sien;[1][15] Sranan si may come from Dutch.[1][15] In Petjo, gezientjes is hide-and-seek.[15]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – Old Dutch sihet and siho are recorded in the Willeram.[3][10]
  • 1200 – Middle Dutch gesien appears in the Limburg life of Saint Servatius.[3][11]
  • 1265–1270 – Siet op mi, “look at me”.[3]
  • 1621 – The form zijen is recorded in Hondius.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To see, to perceive with the eyes: Ik zie een schip aan de horizon.[13][1]
  2. To be able to see, not to be blind: Na de operatie kon hij weer zien.[13][12]
  3. To see in the mind, to understand, to regard: Ik zie het probleem niet.[13][10]
  4. To look, to have a certain appearance: Het plein zag zwart van de mensen.[13]
  5. To see to it, to take care that: Zie maar dat je op tijd bent.[12]

Word family

  • aanzien
  • afzien
  • doorzien
  • omzien
  • opzien
  • overzien
  • toezien
  • uitzien
  • voorzien
  • weerzien
  • ziener
  • ziedaar
  • ziehier
  • gezicht
  • zicht

Usage notes

In West Flemish zien is also a noun, “pupil of the eye”.[16]

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 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 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 Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  5. ^ Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  6. ^ a b Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  7. ^ Veen, P. A. F. van; Sijs, Nicoline van der (1997), Etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van onze woorden, 2nd ed., Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Lexicografie
  8. ^ a b Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 456
  9. ^ Haeringen, C. B. van (1936), Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal: Supplement, 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  10. ^ a b c d Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
  11. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  12. ^ a b c d 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
  13. ^ a b c d e Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  14. ^ Vreese, Willem de (1899), Gallicismen in het Zuidnederlandsch, Gent: Siffer
  15. ^ a b c Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  16. ^ Debrabandere, Frans (2002), West-Vlaams etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van de West-Vlaamse woorden, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Atlas