nee Dutch · revision 37099

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1220–40, Middle Dutch (Lower Rhine)|origins=gem-pro *nainaz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /neː/^(Wiktionary)

+ * Belgium: [neː]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Netherlands: [neɪ̯]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''nee'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Older and formal form: ''neen''.^(Wiktionary)^(EWN)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|dum|neen]] (also [[m|dum|nee]]), [[inh|odt|nēn|t=none, not one]], [[inh|gem-pro|*nainaz|alt=*ne ainan|t=not one, nothing]], a fusion of the negative particle [[m|gem-pro|*ne|t=not]] and the numeral that became [[een]].^(EWN)^(Wiktionary)^(ONW) The word was thus at first a pronoun, and it became an interjection in continental West Germanic.^(EWN) The Old Dutch dictionary notes other analyses: Holthausen started from a form with ⟨nio⟩, Schützeichel from ⟨nih(h)ein⟩, and the more usual Old Dutch form was [[m|odt|nehēn]].^(ONW)

+

+ The same interjection is [[osx|nēn]], [[goh|nein]] (modern [[de|nein]]) and [[ofs|nē]] (modern [[fy|nee]]); the pronoun “not one” is [[m|ofs|nān]], [[ang|nān]] (modern [[en|none]]) and [[non|neinn]].^(EWN)^(Orel 2003) Latin [[m|la|nōn|t=not]], from Old Latin [[m|la|noenum]], was formed in the same way from “not one”.^(EWN)^(MNW)^(WNT)

+

+ The particle continues [[ine-pro|*ne|t=not]], as do [[sa|न|tr=ná]], [[cu|не|tr=ne]], [[lt|nè]] and [[hit|natta|t=not]].^(EWN)^(Kroonen 2013)^(Orel 2003) It is still seen in [[tenzij]], [[nergens]], [[niemand]], [[niet]] and [[nooit]], and in Old and Middle Dutch it was very common as ⟨ne⟩, ⟨en⟩ or ⟨n⟩, mostly with another negative word;^(EWN) West Flemish keeps this double negation, as in “ik en ga niet mee” “I am not coming”.^(EWN) The zero grade gave the prefix [[on-]].^(EWN)

+

+ The original form is ⟨neen⟩; speech dropped the final /n/, though Paul admitted it is not clear how.^(EWN)^(WNT)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old Dutch ''nēn'' is a pronoun, “none”, in the Leiden Willeram of about 1100.^(ONW) The first record of the interjection is in a Lower Rhine text of 1220–40, ''mer hine seide nien noch ia'' “but he said neither no nor yes”, that is, he kept silent.^(EWN)^(VMNW) The Limburg glossary of 1240 renders Latin ''non'' and ''minime'' with ''neen''.^(VMNW)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Middle Dutch often joined a pronoun to the word, as in ''nenic niet'' “no, I don't” and ''neen hi niet'' “no, he isn't”, both from about 1260.^(VMNW) The habit lived on: ''neens'', from ''neen si'', and ''jaas'' were still said in Flanders in 1911.^(WNT) ''Neen zeggen'' came to mean “to refuse, deny”.^(WNT)

+

+ The short form ''nee'' is found from 1350, but in written Middle Dutch and Early Modern Dutch it stayed rare; its frequency rose only from the second half of the 19th century, and it is now by far the commoner form in speech, and in the Netherlands in writing too.^(EWN)^(Van der Sijs 2001) The word passed into Negerhollands (''neen'', ''nēn''), Berbice Dutch (''nene''), Sranan Tongo (''ènèn'', ''ne''), and through Afrikaans into South African English.^(Van der Sijs 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1100 – Old Dutch ''nēn'' “none” in the Leiden Willeram.^(ONW)

+ * 1220–40 – ''Nien noch ia'' “neither no nor yes” on the Lower Rhine.^(EWN)^(VMNW)

+ * 1237 – ''Nen'' in a Ghent charter.^(Van der Sijs 2001)^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997)

+ * 1240 – ''Neen'' for Latin ''non'' in the Limburg glossary Bernardus.^(EWN)^(VMNW)

+ * 1340–60 – ''Nee ghi trouwen'' “no, you surely won't”.^(EWN)

+ * 1350 – The short form ''nee'' is recorded.^(Van der Sijs 2001)^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997)

+ * 1644 – ''Nee Maetjen … niemant hoeft my te helpen'' “no, mate … nobody need help me”.^(EWN)

+ * 1839 – ''He nee!'' “oh no!”, a child's protest at bedtime.^(EWN)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Interjection===

+ # [[m|en|no]], expressing denial or refusal: ''Nee, dat wil ik niet.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)^(WikiWoordenboek)

+ # Expressing [[m|en|surprise]] or indignation, as in ''nee maar!'' and ''o nee!''.^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(het)'' A no, a [[m|en|refusal]].^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[niet]]

+ * [[niemand]]

+ * [[nooit]]

+ * [[geen]]

+ * [[ja]]

+ * [[en|no]]

+ * [[de|nein]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Nee heb je, ja kun je krijgen'' means that asking costs nothing, and ''nee verkopen'' is said of a shop that does not have something in stock.^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}