toch Dutch · revision 37107

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1437, Middle Dutch|origins=gem-pro *þauh}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /tɔx/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''toch''' (adverb)^(Wiktionary)

+ West Frisian and North Holland occasionally have ''tach''.^(WNT) West Flemish has ''tochs'' and ''tochsten''.^(WNT)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|dum|toch]], a variant of [[doch]] with ⟨d⟩ hardened to ⟨t⟩.^(EWN)^(Wiktionary)^(De Vries 1971)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912)^(De Vries & De Tollenaere 2004|386) The form probably arose after words ending in a voiceless consonant and in the Middle Dutch combination ⟨ende doch⟩, pronounced as ⟨*entoch⟩.^(EWN)^(MNW)^(WNT) De Vries leaves open whether sandhi or emphatic pronunciation caused it.^(De Vries 1971) The same hardening is seen in [[toen]], from Middle Dutch ⟨doe⟩.^(Vercoullie 1925)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912) The source of that adverb is [[gem-pro|*þauh|t=nevertheless, though]], the ancestor also of [[en|though]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The Frisian form [[fy|dôch]] kept its ⟨d⟩.^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912)^(Van Haeringen 1936) Franck and Van Wijk at first explained that ⟨d⟩ by sandhi too and then withdrew it.^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912) Van Haeringen put it down to the development of ⟨þ⟩ in weakly stressed words.^(Van Haeringen 1936)

+

+ For centuries ⟨doch⟩ and ⟨toch⟩ were both used as adverbs; after about 1700 ⟨doch⟩ survived only as a conjunction.^(EWN)^(WNT) In 1711 Nyloë already separated them, keeping the newer form for requests and for things done in vain.^(WNT)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Middle Dutch ''toch'' is first found in 1437, in ''cleen dropkijn die toch te niet gaen'', “little drops that are lost anyway”.^(EWN) The sense “nevertheless” is first recorded in 1452, in ''ys toch gedadinght'', “an agreement was nevertheless reached”.^(EWN)^(Van der Sijs 2001)^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By 1460–1480 ''toch'' strengthened questions, and by 1480 it meant “after all, as is known”.^(EWN) Around 1555 it urged and coaxed: ''Laet ons toch int stelleken gaen'', “do let us go into the stable”.^(EWN)^(MNW) In 1796 it intensified an exclamation and gave a reason (“I don't read anyway”), and in 1841 it meant “at least”.^(EWN)^(WNT) The WNT, writing in 1943, notes that it is used countless times for fine shades of meaning that often no single other word can render.^(WNT)

+

+ The tag question ''…, toch?'' “isn't it?”, after a statement, was recorded as a neologism in the early 1980s.^(Reinsma 1984) In Surinamese Dutch it is much more common than in the Netherlands.^(Van Donselaar 1989)

+

+ Modal particles are seldom borrowed, but ''toch'' was: Indonesian and Javanese have ''toh'', Papiamentu ''tòg'', Sranan Tongo ''toku'' and Surinamese Javanese ''toh'', and through Afrikaans ''tog'' it reached South African English and Xhosa.^(Van der Sijs 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1437 – Middle Dutch ''toch'' is first recorded.^(EWN)

+ * 1452 – ''Toch'' “nevertheless” appears.^(EWN)^(Van der Sijs 2001)

+ * 1480 – ''Toch'' means “after all”.^(EWN)

+ * c. 1555 – ''Toch'' is used to urge: ''Laet ons toch int stelleken gaen''.^(EWN)^(MNW)

+ * 1599 – Kiliaan glosses it with Latin ''denique, tandem''.^(WNT)

+ * 1711 – Nyloë separates ''doch'' “but” from the adverb ''toch''.^(WNT)

+ * 1982 – The tag question ''toch?'' is noted as a neologism.^(Reinsma 1984)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # [[m|en|nevertheless]], [[m|en|still]], all the same: ''Het regende, maar we gingen toch wandelen.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)^(WikiWoordenboek)

+ # Correcting what was just said: after all, actually: ''Ik dacht dat hij weg was, maar hij is er toch.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Stressing a conclusion: indeed, after all.^(Van Dale 2014)^(WNT)

+ # Strengthening an impatient or surprised question or an order: ''Wat doe je toch?'' ''Kom toch binnen!''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Expressing alarm, surprise or impatience.^(Van Dale 2014)

+ # Presenting a fact as given: as it is, anyway: ''Je kunt het wel weggooien, ik gebruik het toch niet.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # After a statement, asking for agreement: isn't it? right?: ''Je komt morgen ook, toch?''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)^(Reinsma 1984)

+ # As you know, surely: ''Je weet toch dat ze verhuisd is?''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[doch]]

+ * [[toen]]

+ * [[en|though]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In answer to a negative question, ''toch'' or, more usually today, ''toch wel'' contradicts it, like French ''si'' or German ''doch''.^(WNT)^(Wiktionary) An unrelated noun ''toch'' “pull, procession, train”, a form of ''tocht'', is obsolete.^(WNT)^(MNW)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}