laten Dutch · revision 37102

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1100, Old Dutch (Leiden Willeram)|origins=ine-pro *leh₁d-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈlaːtə(n)/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''laten'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Strong verb: past tense ''liet'', past participle ''gelaten''.^(WNT)^(Van Donselaar 1989)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|dum|laten]], [[inh|odt|lātan]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*lātan]], [[inh|gem-pro|*lētaną|t=to let, allow]].^(EWN)^(Wiktionary)^(Kroonen 2013) The same word is [[osx|lātan]], [[goh|lāzan]] (modern [[de|lassen]]), [[ofs|lēta]] (modern [[fy|litte]]), [[ang|lǣtan]] (modern [[en|let]]), [[non|láta]] and [[got|𐌻𐌴𐍄𐌰𐌽|tr=lētan]].^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)^(Kroonen 2013)^(De Vries & De Tollenaere 2004|221)

+

+ The root is [[ine-pro|*leh₁d-]], also found in [[grc|ληδεῖν|tr=lēdeîn|t=to be tired]] and [[sq|lodh|t=to tire]]; its zero grade gave [[la|lassus|t=tired]], from [[m|ine-pro|*lh₁d-to-]], and the Germanic adjective behind [[laat]] “late”.^(EWN)^(Kroonen 2013)^(De Vries 1971) De Vries took the basic sense of the root to be “to slacken, grow weak”.^(De Vries 1971) A link with [[lt|léisti|t=to let go]] is uncertain, and Franck and Van Wijk warned against building a root ⟨lēid-⟩ on it.^(EWN)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912)

+

+ Middle Dutch also had a short form [[m|dum|laen]], with the imperative [[m|dum|lach]], which the Middle Dutch dictionary thinks may have come from [[gmh|lân]], though it doubts that a loan is needed.^(MNW)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old Dutch had the derivative ''farlāton'' “to forsake” in the Wachtendonck Psalms of the 10th century.^(EWN) The simple verb ''lātan'' is recorded around 1100 in the Leiden Willeram, where it means “to leave open”, of leaving no gap open to evil spirits, and “to let go”.^(ONW) The first Middle Dutch record, from Limburg in 1200, is ''dat hene hen lange lite leuen'' “that he let them live long”.^(EWN)^(VMNW)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Even the earliest Middle Dutch verb had a wide range of senses: “to leave in a state or place”, “to leave behind, bequeath”, “to abandon”, “to refrain from”, “to end”.^(EWN)^(VMNW) Some of these were later taken over by derivatives such as [[achterlaten]], [[nalaten]], [[toelaten]], [[verlaten]] and [[vrijlaten]].^(EWN) Because the verb meant “to allow”, it served from the start as an auxiliary in the pattern ''laten'' + object + infinitive.^(EWN) Later in Middle Dutch the imperative in ''laet ons in iudea gaen'' “let us go to Judea” (1285) was gradually reshaped, under the influence of patterns such as ''mogen wi'', into ''laten wi'' (about 1410), and so arose the modal ''laten we'';^(EWN) ''laat ons'' survives in formal use, more in Belgium, especially in ''laat ons bidden''.^(EWN)

+

+ With bodily things ''laten'' means “to let out”: ''een traan laten'', ''een wind laten'' (1692), ''bloed laten''.^(WNT)^(Van Dale 2014) The saying ''leven en laten leven'' “live and let live” is found in Dutch in 1604, well before Wieland used the German form.^(Stoett 1923) In Surinamese Dutch ''laten'' also means “to leave, abandon”, of a school or a partner.^(Van Donselaar 1989)^(Wiktionary) The verb passed into Berbice Dutch (''latn''), Skepi Dutch (''at''), Madurese and Sranan Tongo, where ''lâte'' means “to break wind”.^(Van der Sijs 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 901–1000 – Old Dutch ''farlāton'' “to forsake” in the Wachtendonck Psalms.^(EWN)

+ * c. 1100 – Old Dutch ''lātan'' in the Leiden Willeram.^(ONW)

+ * 1200 – Middle Dutch ''lite leuen'' “let live” in Limburg.^(EWN)^(VMNW)

+ * 1236 – The sense “not to prevent, to leave, to give up”.^(Van der Sijs 2001)^(De Vries & De Tollenaere 2004|221)

+ * 1260–80 – ''Quite laten'' “to set free”.^(EWN)^(VMNW)

+ * 1285 – ''Laet ons in iudea gaen'' “let us go to Judea”.^(EWN)

+ * c. 1410 – ''Laten wy in Gods geleide varen'' “let us travel in God's keeping”, the new modal construction.^(EWN)

+ * 1604 – ''Leven en laten leven'' “live and let live”.^(Stoett 1923)

+ * 1692 – ''Een wind laten'' “to break wind”.^(WNT)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|let]], [[m|en|allow]]: ''Hij laat de kat binnen.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To leave, keep in a place or state: ''Laat de deur maar open.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To let out, not hold back: ''een zucht laten''.^(Van Dale 2014)^(WNT)

+ # To give up: ''het leven laten'' “to die”.^(Van Dale 2014)

+ # To [[m|en|refrain]] from, stop doing: ''Laat dat!''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To leave behind, not take along: ''Ik heb mijn tas in de trein gelaten.''^(Van Dale 2014)

+ # To have something done, [[m|en|cause]] to happen: ''Ze laat haar haar knippen.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # As an auxiliary of [[m|en|exhortation]]: ''Laten we gaan.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(Suriname, colloquial)'' To leave, break up with a partner.^(Wiktionary)^(Van Donselaar 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[achterlaten]]

+ * [[aflaten]]

+ * [[binnenlaten]]

+ * [[doorlaten]]

+ * [[inlaten]]

+ * [[loslaten]]

+ * [[nalaten]]

+ * [[neerlaten]]

+ * [[overlaten]]

+ * [[toelaten]]

+ * [[uitlaten]]

+ * [[verlaten]]

+ * [[vrijlaten]]

+ * [[weglaten]]

+ * [[gelaten]]

+ * [[aderlaten]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[laat]]

+ * [[en|let]]

+ * [[de|lassen]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Doen en laten'' means one's whole conduct.^(WNT) De Vreese condemned the Southern Dutch ''ik laat u'' “I'm leaving you”, after French ''je vous laisse'', and ''te wensen laten'' for ''te wensen overlaten'', as gallicisms.^(De Vreese 1899) A Brabant dialect verb ''laten'' “to stand chatting” is a separate formation from ''laat'' “late”.^(Debrabandere 2010)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}