wereld Dutch · revision 37216

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=901–1000, Old Dutch (Wachtendonck Psalms)|origins=gem-pro *weraldiz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈʋeː.rəlt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''wereld''' ''f or m'' (plural werelden, diminutive wereldje n)^(Wiktionary)

+ The Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal also records the form ''wareld''.^(WNT) Middle Dutch spelled it ''werelt'', ''werlt'' and ''warelt''.^(MNW)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|dum|werelt]], [[inh|odt|werolt]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*weraldi]], [[inh|gem-pro|*weraldiz]].^(EWN)^(Wiktionary)^(ONW) The same word is [[osx|werold]], [[goh|weralt]] (modern [[de|Welt]]), [[ofs|wrald]] (modern [[fy|wrâld]]) and [[ang|weorold]] (modern [[en|world]]), all meaning “life, time, lifetime, mankind, world”.^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912) [[non|verǫld]] is recorded late and may have been borrowed from Old English.^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)

+

+ It is a Germanic compound of [[m|gem-pro|*weraz|t=man]], seen in [[weerwolf]] and related to [[la|vir|t=man]], and [[m|gem-pro|*aldiz|t=age, lifetime]].^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)^(WNT)^(Wiktionary) The second part survives as [[ang|ield]], [[m|non|ǫld]] and [[got|𐌰𐌻𐌳𐍃|tr=alds|t=lifetime, age]], and in the plurals [[m|osx|eldi]] and [[m|non|aldir|t=people]]; it belongs with the adjective [[oud]].^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912) The compound thus first meant “lifetime of man”, from which came “age, eternity” and “the earth we live on”, as against the hereafter.^(EWN)^(De Vries & De Tollenaere 2004|436) Van Haeringen argued that the sense “mankind” need not be secondary but could go back directly to the root meaning “to nourish, make grow” from which that adjective comes.^(Van Haeringen 1936)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The Wachtendonck Psalms of the 10th century use the word to translate Latin ''saeculum'', in the time sense: ''Uuonon sal ic an selethon thinro an uueroldi'', “I shall dwell in your dwelling in eternity”.^(EWN)^(ONW) The Williram of about 1100 speaks of ''thiro wereld arbeyde'', “the burdens of worldly life”.^(EWN) In Middle Dutch it is first found in Ghent in 1236, of people who wish to return to the world after entering religious life.^(EWN)^(VMNW)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The time sense remained strong in Middle Dutch: ''werelt'' could still mean “eternity”, an “age”, and an era of a thousand years, as in a 15th-century text on the six ages of the world.^(MNW) Beside it were the senses “the earth” and “mankind”, as in a text of 1265–70 on what ''al die werelt'' “all mankind” must suffer.^(EWN)^(VMNW) From the 16th century the WNT records the sense “the universe, heaven and earth”, and a book of 1570 asks whether there are many worlds or only one.^(WNT)

+

+ Several phrases are loan translations: ''de wereld wil bedrogen worden'' of Latin ''mundus vult decipi'', ''de derde wereld'' of French ''tiers monde'', ''de nieuwe wereld'' of Spanish ''nuevo mundo''.^(Van der Sijs 2005) Proverbs with the word are old: ''ondank is 's werelds loon'' “ingratitude is the world's reward”, and ''de brutalen hebben de halve wereld'', which Coornhert in the 16th century gave as two thirds of the world.^(Stoett 1923)^(Van Dale 2014) The word was borrowed into Negerhollands, and Afrikaans has [[m|af|wêreld]].^(Van der Sijs 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 901–1000 – The Wachtendonck Psalms use Old Dutch ''werolt'', ''werilt'' for Latin ''saeculum''.^(EWN)^(ONW)^(Van der Sijs 2001)

+ * c. 1100 – The Williram has ''wereld'' “worldly life”.^(EWN)

+ * 1236 – Middle Dutch ''werelt'', “secular life”, is recorded in Ghent.^(EWN)^(VMNW)

+ * 1265–70 – ''Al die werelt'' is used for all mankind.^(EWN)

+ * 1503 – ''Werelt'' is used of the created universe.^(WNT)

+ * 16th century – Coornhert records the proverb on the shameless owning two thirds of the world.^(Stoett 1923)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # the [[m|en|world]], the [[m|en|earth]], the planet we live on: ''een reis om de wereld''.^(Van Dale 2014)^(ANW)^(Wiktionary)

+ # a self-contained order, physical or not, a world of its own: ''de wereld van de dromen''.^(Van Dale 2014)^(WikiWoordenboek)

+ # [[m|en|society]], mankind, or the community of a cultural sphere: ''de westerse wereld''.^(Van Dale 2014)^(WikiWoordenboek)

+ # the circle in which a person moves, a [[m|en|milieu]]: ''de wereld van het theater''.^(Van Dale 2014)^(WikiWoordenboek)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[wereldlijk]]

+ * [[werelds]]

+ * [[wereldling]]

+ * [[wereldwijd]]

+ * [[wereldbeeld]]

+ * [[wereldbeschouwing]]

+ * [[wereldberoemd]]

+ * [[wereldbol]]

+ * [[wereldburger]]

+ * [[werelddeel]]

+ * [[wereldoorlog]]

+ * [[wereldkampioen]]

+ * [[onderwereld]]

+ * [[wereldvreemd]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[weerwolf]]

+ * [[oud]]

+ * [[en|world]]

+ * [[de|Welt]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Alleen op de wereld staan'' means to have no family or friends, and ''iemand naar de andere wereld helpen'' is to kill someone.^(Van Dale 2014) ''Voor God en de wereld'' is “for everyone to see”.^(Van Dale 2014) De Vreese criticised ''een wereld van …'' for “a great quantity of …” as an imitation of French ''un monde de''.^(De Vreese 1899) In Maastricht the word is ''wair(r)eld''.^(Aarts 2017)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}