werken Dutch · revision 37155

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=901–1000, Wachtendonck Psalms|origins=ine-pro *werǵ-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈʋɛrkə(n)/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''werken'''^(Wiktionary)

+ The Middle Dutch past tense was ⟨wrochte⟩ (eastern ⟨warchte⟩), with the participle ⟨ghewrocht⟩.^(MNW)^(EWN) These forms survive in Flemish.^(EWN)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|dum|werken]], [[inh|odt|wirken]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*wirkijan]], [[inh|gem-pro|*wirkijaną|t=to make, effect]], a verb formed in Proto-Germanic from the noun [[m|gem-pro|*werką|t=work]], the ancestor of [[werk]].^(EWN)^(Wiktionary)^(Kroonen 2013) The same verb is [[osx|wirkian]], [[goh|wirken]] (modern [[de|wirken]]) and [[ofs|wirtsa]].^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997) A form with the zero grade, [[m|gem-pro|*wurkijaną]], gave [[m|osx|workian]], [[m|goh|wurken]], [[ang|wyrcan]] (modern [[en|work]]), [[non|yrkja]] and [[got|𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌺𐌾𐌰𐌽|tr=waurkjan]].^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912) The root is [[ine-pro|*werǵ-|t=to do, make]], as in [[grc|ἔργον|tr=érgon|t=work]].^(EWN)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The Middle Dutch past tense ⟨wrochte⟩ and participle ⟨ghewrocht⟩ show a North Sea Germanic shift of ⟨r⟩ to the other side of the vowel before ⟨cht⟩, as in [[godsvrucht]] and [[m|en|wrought]].^(EWN)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912) The participle lives on in [[gewrocht]] and [[doorwrocht]].^(EWN) Modern Dutch made from it a new literary verb [[wrochten]] “to create”.^(EWN)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old Dutch ''wirken'' first appears in the Wachtendonck Psalms of the 10th century, in ''uueg uuirkit imo'' “make a way for him”: the oldest sense is “to make”.^(EWN)^(ONW)^(Van der Sijs 2001) About 1100 the Egmond Williram uses it for doing work for one's lord.^(EWN)^(ONW) Middle Dutch ''werken'' “to labour” is recorded in 1240, and in 1265–1270 a text says that God ''wrachte'' “brought about” an illness.^(EWN)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From “to make” and “to labour” the verb came to mean having an effect, already in Old Dutch, where the psalms ask God to strengthen what he has wrought in us.^(ONW)^(EWN) In early modern Dutch it is the ordinary word for working for a living: a text of 1551 says that God's first penance for Adam was that he had to work and eat his bread in the sweat of his face.^(WNT) Of machines and plans it means “to function”, and of wood and other materials “to warp”; sailors said that a ship works when it pitches in heavy seas, and that wine works when it ferments.^(Van Dale 2014)^(Winschoten 1681) ''Loon naar werken'', pay according to one's work, is an old proverb.^(Stoett 1923)

+

+ Danish and Norwegian [[m|da|virke]] “to function, have an effect” came from Dutch or Low German, and through Afrikaans the verb reached Tswana as ''bereke''.^(Van der Sijs 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 901–1000 – Old Dutch ''uuirkit'' “makes” in the Wachtendonck Psalms.^(EWN)^(Van der Sijs 2001)

+ * c. 1100 – ''Wirken'' “to work for someone” in the Egmond Williram.^(EWN)^(ONW)

+ * 1201–1225 – Middle Dutch ''gewart'' “made”.^(EWN)

+ * 1240 – ''Werken'' “to labour” in a Limburg glossary.^(EWN)^(De Vries & De Tollenaere 2004|436)

+ * 1551 – Working for one's bread is called the first penance laid on Adam.^(WNT)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|work]], to [[m|en|labour]]: to be busy doing a task.^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To have a job, to work for a living.^(Van Dale 2014)^(WikiWoordenboek)

+ # Of machines, plans or medicines: to [[m|en|function]], to have the intended effect.^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To have an effect on someone: ''op de lachspieren werken'', to make people laugh.^(Van Dale 2014)

+ # Of wood and other materials: to [[m|en|warp]], to change shape.^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(transitive)'' To get something or someone into a position by effort: ''iemand eruit werken'', to get someone dismissed.^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[gewrocht]]

+ * [[werkelijk]]

+ * [[werktuig]]

+ * [[werkwoord]]

+ * [[werkbaar]]

+ * [[werkzaam]]

+ * [[werker]]

+ * [[werking]]

+ * [[werkman]]

+ * [[werkplaats]]

+ * [[bewerken]]

+ * [[verwerken]]

+ * [[medewerken]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[werk]]

+ * [[doorwrocht]]

+ * [[wrochten]]

+ * [[en|work]]

+ * [[de|wirken]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Kroonen treats ''werken'' “to warp”, said of wood, as a separate, rarely attested Germanic strong verb meaning “to bend”, akin to Swedish ''vurken'' “warped”.^(Kroonen 2013) The ANW records ''zich de mikmak werken'', to work oneself to death.^(ANW)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}