en Dutch · revision 37061

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=776–800, Utrecht baptismal vow|origins=gem-pro *andi}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Stressed: /ɛn/^(Wiktionary)

+ * Unstressed: /ən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''en'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|dum|ende]], [[inh|odt|inde]], [[inh|gem-pro|*andi]].^(EWN)^(Wiktionary) Old Dutch also has [[m|odt|in]], [[m|odt|enda]] and [[m|odt|ande]], and the Middle Dutch form was later shortened to [[m|dum|en]].^(EWN)^(De Vries & De Tollenaere 2004|121) The same conjunction is [[osx|endi]], [[goh|enti]] and [[m|goh|inti]], beside [[m|goh|unti]] with a different ablaut vowel (modern [[de|und]]), [[ofs|and]], and [[ang|and]], the source of [[en|and]].^(EWN)^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997)^(De Vries 1971) The word was mostly unstressed, and the reconstructed form arose from an older [[gem-pro|*anþi]] by grammatical alternation; the older form is continued by [[non|en|t=but, and]].^(EWN)

+

+ The EWN thinks the word probably first meant “on the other hand, opposite”, and connects it with [[la|ante|t=before]], [[grc|ἀντί|tr=antí]], [[sa|अन्ति|tr=ánti]] and [[hit|ḫanza|t=in front]], from [[ine-pro|*h₂enti|t=at the front, opposite]]; on this view it is related to [[einde]].^(EWN)^(Wiktionary) Van Haeringen rejected this connection.^(Van Haeringen 1936) De Vries and Franck–Van Wijk compare instead [[sa|अथ|tr=átha|t=then, thereupon]], which Franck–Van Wijk call possible but uncertain, since the meanings of conjunctions vary so much.^(De Vries 1971)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912)^(De Vries & De Tollenaere 2004|121)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The word is first recorded in the Utrecht baptismal vow of the late 8th century.^(Van der Sijs 2001) The 10th-century Wachtendonck Psalms have ''ind'', ''inde'' and ''in'' “and”.^(EWN)^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997) Middle Dutch ''ende'' appears around 1200 in the Servas legend from Limburg, and the short ''en'' in a charter of 1236.^(EWN)^(VMNW)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Ende'' remained a written form for a long time beside ''en''.^(WNT) Besides joining words and clauses, the conjunction makes fixed pairs of adverbs such as ''af en toe'', ''op en neer'', ''heen en weer'' and ''door en door''.^(WNT)^(Van Dale 2014) Placed between a comparative and itself it expresses a gradual increase, as in ''minder en minder'' “less and less” (1807).^(WNT) In the 17th century a conditional ''en'', ''in'' “if” was also used, as in ''int u belieft'' “if it please you” (1615), like English ''an'' in the same sense.^(WNT)

+

+ In modern speech ''en'' can open a question or an exclamation of surprise or reproach, and ''nou en?'' answers a weak argument.^(Van Dale 2014) Dutch passed the word to Indonesian ''én'', Sranan Tongo [[m|srn|èn]], Negerhollands and Berbice Dutch ''an'', and Afrikaans [[m|af|en]].^(Van der Sijs 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 776–800 – The conjunction is first recorded, in the Utrecht baptismal vow.^(Van der Sijs 2001)

+ * 901–1000 – The Wachtendonck Psalms have ''inde'', ''ind'' and ''in''.^(EWN)

+ * c. 1100 – Old Dutch ''enda'' and ''ande'' are recorded.^(EWN)^(De Vries & De Tollenaere 2004|121)

+ * c. 1200 – Middle Dutch ''ende'' appears in Limburg.^(EWN)^(VMNW)

+ * 1236 – The short form ''en'' is recorded.^(EWN)

+ * 1615 – ''In'' (''en'') is used for “if”.^(WNT)

+ * 1807 – ''Minder en minder'' shows the doubled comparative.^(WNT)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Conjunction===

+ # [[m|en|and]]: adds a word, phrase or clause to another; in arithmetic, [[m|en|plus]].^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)^(WNT)

+ # Joins things that belong together, also in fixed pairs: ''op en neer'', ''heen en weer''.^(Van Dale 2014)^(WNT)

+ # Between two equal comparatives, expresses a steady increase: ''het werd warmer en warmer''.^(Van Dale 2014)^(WNT)

+ # Expresses repetition or continuation: ''en maar wachten''.^(Van Dale 2014)

+ # Marks a difference within one name: ''je hebt koks en koks''.^(Van Dale 2014)

+ # Introduces a contrast: ''en toch'', and yet.^(Van Dale 2014)

+ # At the start of a sentence, expresses surprise, a reproach or disappointment, or invites an answer: ''En? Hoe was het?'';^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary) ''nou en?'', so what?^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Gives strong confirmation.^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[op-en-top]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[einde]]

+ * [[en|and]]

+ * [[de|und]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A separate ''en'' “not” is [[m|dum|en]], [[m|dum|ne]], from the negative particle [[gem-pro|*ne]].^(Wiktionary)^(Kroonen 2013) It went with another negative (''ik en weet het niet''), with ''maar'' in the sense “only”, and in ''het en zij'' and ''het en ware'', the source of [[tenzij]] and [[tenware]].^(WNT) By 1917 the WNT called it nearly obsolete in the Netherlands; it is still colloquial or dialectal in Belgium.^(WNT)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}