mooi Dutch · revision 37190

+ {{infobox|confidence=unknown|attested=1153, Old Dutch (byname Moye)}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /moːi̯/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''mooi''' (comparative mooier, superlative mooist)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|dum|moy]] (also [[m|dum|mooy]]), [[inh|odt|mōi]], a word of unknown origin.^(EWN)^(Wiktionary)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912) Outside Dutch it is found only in Middle Low German, which has [[gml|moie]] according to De Vries and Franck–Van Wijk and only the derivative [[m|gml|mojerdie|t=finery, foolery]] according to the EWN; modern [[fy|moai]] and [[nds|moi]] were probably borrowed from Dutch.^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912) All the Old and Middle Dutch records come from the southwest, from Zeeland and East and West Flanders.^(EWN)

+

+ De Vries starts from a Germanic ⟨*mauja-⟩ and links it with [[modder]], explaining the meaning from “washed, clean” and earlier “wetted”, and compares [[la|mundus|t=clean, neat]].^(De Vries 1971) Wiktionary follows this with [[gmw-pro|*mauwī|t=clean, washed]].^(Wiktionary) In De Vries & De Tollenaere a comparison with words for washing is called doubtful for so local a word.^(De Vries & De Tollenaere 2004|254) A borrowing of [[es|muy|t=very]] was proposed in 1931, but the EWN finds it very unlikely given the age of the Dutch word; it thinks the word was probably borrowed, from an unknown and perhaps pre-Indo-European language.^(EWN)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The word first appears in the byname of Olricus Moye in 1153.^(EWN)^(ONW) The derivative ''moyaert'' “show-off” follows as the byname of Henric Moiard (1288), and a field at Assenede called ''de moihe'' (1290) and Arnout ''de moi'' of Oudenaarde (1291) may show the adjective itself.^(EWN)^(VMNW) It is first certain in a text of 1300–1325, of a wife ''die moye was'' “who was beautiful”.^(EWN)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Middle Dutch the word mostly meant “finely dressed, smart”, often with a hint of vanity: ''waer omme cleetstu di zo moy'' “why do you dress so finely?” (1350–1400).^(EWN)^(MNW) The MNW notes that it was sometimes paired with ''scone'' and only gradually took on that word's meaning “beautiful”, until it had all but replaced ''schoon'' in that sense in the spoken language of the north; in the written language, the MNW wrote, it had only lately come into use through the newest literary movement.^(MNW) In the south the opposite happened: except in French Flanders the dialects use [[schoon]].^(EWN)^(WNT) The old sense lives on in ''zich mooi maken'' “to dress up”, recorded from 1663.^(WNT)

+

+ Used of the weather, ''mooi'' entered German sailors' speech, recorded from 1747.^(De Vries 1971) Ironic uses are old: in 1907 someone who has broken an arm ''is zes weken mooi mee'' “will be stuck with it for six weeks”.^(WNT) ''Mooi dat …'', meaning “sure enough …”, and ''mooi niet!'' “certainly not!” were noted as new in the early 1980s.^(Reinsma 1984)^(Van Dale 2014) ''Aap, wat heb je mooie jongen!'', said of flattering someone one fears, comes from the beast epic of Reynard the Fox.^(Stoett 1923)

+

+ The word spread far: Frisian ''moai'', North Frisian ''mooi'', Scots ''moy'' (obsolete), Danish ''moj'' (obsolete) and Swedish ''moj'' “light (of wind)”, Negerhollands, Berbice and Skepi Dutch, Sranan Tongo ''moi'', Saramaccan ''moi'' “soft”, and, through Afrikaans [[m|af|mooi]], South African English.^(Van der Sijs 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1153 – The byname Olricus Moye.^(EWN)^(ONW)

+ * 1288 – ''Moyaert'' “show-off” as a byname.^(EWN)^(VMNW)

+ * 1290 – The field name ''de moihe'' at Assenede.^(VMNW)

+ * 1300–1325 – First certain use as an adjective, “beautiful”.^(EWN)

+ * 1350 – ''Moy'' “fair, pretty” in the MNW's quotations.^(Van der Sijs 2001)^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997)

+ * 1598 – ''Moy clare lucht'' “fine clear sky”.^(EWN)^(WNT)

+ * 1747 – German sailors' ''moy'', of the weather.^(De Vries 1971)

+ * 1981 – ''Mooi dat …'' “sure enough …” noted as new.^(Reinsma 1984)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|beautiful]], pretty, pleasant to look at or listen to: ''Wat een mooi schilderij!''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)^(WikiWoordenboek)

+ # Fine, [[m|en|excellent]], good: ''Hij heeft een mooie baan gevonden.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(ironic)'' Nice, fine, meaning the opposite: ''Dat is een mooie boel.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(WikiWoordenboek)

+ # Favourable, [[m|en|advantageous]]: ''Dat is mooi meegenomen.''^(Van Dale 2014)

+ # Considerable, quite a lot of: ''een mooi bedrag''.^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Nicely, well: ''Ze zingt mooi.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' Quite, thoroughly, adding dismay or emphasis: ''Nu zit je mooi in de problemen.''^(WikiWoordenboek)^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bloedmooi]]

+ * [[mooiboy]]

+ * [[mooiheid]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Mooi niet!'' means “certainly not!”, and ''het is mooi geweest'' “that's enough”.^(Van Dale 2014)^(Reinsma 1984) In Surinamese Dutch ''mooi groeten'' is to greet politely.^(Van Donselaar 1989)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}