na Dutch · revision 37194

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /naː/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''na'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|dum|na]], [[inh|odt|nāh]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*nāhw]], [[inh|gem-pro|*nēhw|t=near]], an adverb formed from the adjective [[gem-pro|*nēhwaz|t=near]].^(EWN)^(Wiktionary)^(Kroonen 2013) The same word is [[osx|nāh]], [[goh|nāh]] (modern [[de|nach]] and [[m|de|nahe]]), [[ofs|nēi]] (modern [[fy|nei]]), [[ang|nēah]] (modern [[en|nigh]]), the first part of [[non|nábúi|t=neighbour]] and [[got|𐌽𐌴𐍈|tr=neƕ|t=near]], all meaning “near”.^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)^(Kroonen 2013) A form with another suffix, Germanic ⟨*nēhw-ia-⟩, gave Old Dutch [[m|odt|nāio|t=almost]] and [[m|goh|nāho|t=near]].^(EWN)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912)

+

+ Since the meaning “near” is found in every Germanic language, it is probably the original one.^(EWN) Dutch and German developed from it the senses “directly after”, “towards” and “according to”, all of which Old Dutch already has.^(EWN) Kroonen explains the adjective as a lengthened-grade formation from [[ine-pro|*h₂neḱ-|t=to reach]], the root he also finds in [[genoeg]].^(Kroonen 2013)^(Wiktionary) Van Veen and De Vries call the origin uncertain, and De Vries lists other comparisons, such as [[lt|nókti|t=to overtake, to ripen]].^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997)^(De Vries 1971)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912)

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+ Middle Dutch [[m|dum|naer]] began as the comparative of the word, but the two were nearly synonyms.^(EWN)^(MNW) Grammarians of the 17th century tried to keep them apart, and after 1730, under the influence of the scholar Balthazar Huydecoper, the written language settled on the present division: ⟨na⟩ for what follows in time, [[naar]] for direction and for “according to”.^(EWN)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912) The superlative survives as [[naast]], and [[nader]] is a newer comparative.^(EWN)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old Dutch ''nāh'' is first recorded as a preposition around 1100 in the Leiden Willeram, already with three senses: ''nah themo bluothe'' “after the blossoming”, ''her neyget sich nah uns'' “he bends towards us” and ''nah sinemo willan'' “according to his will”.^(EWN)^(ONW) The derivative ''nāio'' “almost” is older, from the 10th-century Wachtendonck Psalms.^(EWN)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Middle Dutch the word was a preposition and an adverb: it meant “afterwards” in a Brabant life of Saint Lutgard of 1265–1270, where the evangelists ''songen na'' “sang afterwards”, and “near” in ''na of verne'' “near or far” (1250).^(EWN)^(VMNW) As an adjective it described kinship, and a Zeeland charter of 1254 speaks of nephews, nieces and ''narre'' “nearer” relatives.^(EWN)^(VMNW) Middle Dutch ''na'' still combined the senses of modern ''na'' and ''naar'', the MNW notes, and the spoken language of both north and south long used ''na'' for ''naar''.^(MNW)^(WNT)

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+ Joined to verbs it always expresses following, in space or in time: ''nacomen'' “to obey, to carry out” is recorded in 1240, ''na te segghen'' “to repeat someone's words” in the 13th century, and in the 15th a counterfeiter ''naslaet'' “copies” a lord's coin.^(EWN) Later verbs in ''na-'' express checking, such as [[nakijken]], or imitation, such as [[nabootsen]], and the prefix is still productive.^(EWN) Middle Dutch ''enen te na gaen'' meant to come too close to someone with hostile intent, the source of the modern ''iemand te na komen'' “to offend someone”.^(Stoett 1923)^(Van Dale 2014)

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+ The preposition passed into Negerhollands as ''na'' and ''a'', which handed it on to the English Creole of the Virgin Islands;^(Van der Sijs 2010)^(Wiktionary) Afrikaans has [[m|af|na]].^(Van der Sijs 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 901–1000 – Old Dutch ''nāio'' “almost” in the Wachtendonck Psalms.^(EWN)

+ * c. 1100 – The preposition ''nāh'' in the Leiden Willeram.^(EWN)^(ONW)

+ * 1151–1200 – ''Nā'' “after; towards; according to” in the Rhineland Rhyming Bible.^(EWN)

+ * 1200 – The Middle Dutch preposition, in the Limburg life of Saint Servatius.^(Van der Sijs 2001)^(VMNW)

+ * 1240 – ''Nacomen'' “to obey”.^(EWN)

+ * 1254 – The comparative ''narre'' of near kinship, in Middelburg.^(EWN)^(VMNW)

+ * 1265–1270 – The adverb “afterwards” in a Brabant life of Saint Lutgard.^(EWN)^(VMNW)

+ * After 1730 – Written Dutch begins to separate ''na'' (time) and ''naar'' (direction).^(EWN)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Preposition===

+ # [[m|en|after]], later than: ''Na het eten gingen we wandelen.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)^(WikiWoordenboek)

+ # After, behind, in order or position: ''Hij kwam als laatste na zijn broers binnen.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(WikiWoordenboek)

+ # ''(op … na)'' Except, [[m|en|bar]]; with a number, marking a rank below the first: ''Dat is op één na de hoogste toren.''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # [[m|en|near]], close by; mostly in fixed phrases: ''iemand te na komen'' “to offend someone”, ''ei zo na'' “very nearly”.^(Van Dale 2014)^(WNT)

+ # Afterwards, after the rest: ''Er kwam nog een toetje na.''^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(dated)'' Close, near, especially of [[m|en|kinship]]: ''een naë verwant''.^(WNT)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912)^(Wiktionary)^(WikiWoordenboek)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[nadat]]

+ * [[nabootsen]]

+ * [[naast]]

+ * [[nader]]

+ * [[nabuur]]

+ * [[bijna]]

+ * [[nabij]]

+ * [[nadruk]]

+ * [[nazaat]]

+ * [[najaar]]

+ * [[daarna]]

+ * [[naar]]

+ * [[naderhand]]

+ * [[nadenken]]

+ * [[nagerecht]]

+ * [[achterna]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[en|nigh]]

+ * [[de|nach]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In older Dutch and in dialects ''na'' is also used for [[naar]] “to, towards”, as in ''na huys'' “home” (1582).^(WNT)^(Wiktionary) Jewish Dutch has an unrelated ''na'' or ''naa'' “no”, from Yiddish.^(Van de Kamp 2006) The superlative of the adjective is [[naast]] and its comparative [[nader]].^(Wiktionary)^(EWN)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}