achter Dutch · revision 37247

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 9th century, Old Dutch|origins=gem-pro *after}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈɑxtər/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''achter'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|dum|achter]], [[inh|odt|after]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*aftar]], [[inh|gem-pro|*after|t=behind, after]].^(EWN)^(Wiktionary)^(Kroonen 2013) Middle Dutch also wrote ⟨after⟩, and the Zaan dialect kept it.^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912) The same word is [[osx|aftar]], [[goh|aftar]], [[ofs|efter]], [[ang|æfter]] (modern [[en|after]]) and [[non|eptir]], and with other endings the adverbs [[got|𐌰𐍆𐍄𐌰𐍂𐍉|tr=aftarō|t=from behind]] and [[m|got|𐌰𐍆𐍄𐍂𐌰|tr=aftra|t=back, again]].^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)^(Kroonen 2013) Forms without ⟨r⟩, such as Old Dutch ⟨eft⟩ “again”, lie behind [[echter]].^(EWN) With the prefix of [[buiten]] and [[boven]] Middle Dutch made [[m|dum|bachten|t=at the back]].^(EWN)

+

+ The Germanic word is probably a comparative of [[m|nl|af]], made with the contrastive suffix [[ine-pro|*-teros]] from [[m|ine-pro|*h₂ep-|t=off, away]], like [[grc|ἀπωτέρω|tr=apōtérō|t=further away]] and [[sa|अपतरम्|tr=apataram|t=further]].^(EWN)^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997)^(Kroonen 2013) The Etymologisch woordenboek van het Nederlands thinks a link with [[m|ine-pro|*h₁epi-|t=later]], the root of [[avond]], somewhat more likely.^(EWN)

+

+ The ⟨ch⟩ comes from a sound law found only in Dutch, by which /ft/ became /xt/, as in [[kracht]] and [[lucht]] beside [[de|Kraft]] and [[m|de|Luft]].^(EWN)^(MNW) The change had happened by Old Dutch times, which already show reverse spellings with ⟨ft⟩ for ⟨cht⟩; it spread from Flanders and western Brabant into the standard language.^(EWN) Where modern Dutch has /ft/ it was mostly restored by analogy, as in [[helft]] beside [[half]], or the word is younger; [[bruiloft]] is a relic of the old sound.^(EWN)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The oldest record is a late 9th-century charm that says ''Visc flot aftar themo uuatare'' “a fish swam through the water”, with the sense “through, along”.^(ONW)^(EWN) In the Wachtendonck Psalms of the 10th century ''aftir'' means “after, behind” and also “according to”, glossing Latin ''secundum''.^(ONW)^(Van der Sijs 2001) Middle Dutch ''achter'' is found around 1200 in the Limburg life of Saint Servatius, in ''wide achter lande'' “far and wide through the land”.^(VMNW)^(EWN)^(De Vries & De Tollenaere 2004|46)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old and Middle Dutch used the word for place, time and accordance: “behind, through, after, according to”.^(ONW)^(VMNW) The time sense “after” has gone from the standard language, which by the 19th century used ''achter'' only of place, but dialects still have it.^(WNT)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912) As an adverb it meant “afterwards” and, in 13th-century Bruges and Mechelen charters, “in arrears” with a payment, the source of the modern sense “behind”.^(VMNW)^(MNW)^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ Many compounds grew from it, among them [[achterbaks]] “underhand” and [[achterklap]] “backbiting”.^(WNT)^(Wiktionary) ''Het achter de mouw hebben'' “to be sly” has a Flemish variant with ''achter de elleboog''.^(Stoett 1923)

+

+ Sailors carried the word abroad: German nautical ''achter'' and Danish ''agter'', Norwegian and Swedish ''akter'' came from Dutch or Low German, and Van der Sijs also lists English [[m|en|aft]].^(Van der Sijs 2010) Negerhollands had ''aster'' and ''astu'', and in Petjo ''achter'' was a polite word for the toilet.^(Van der Sijs 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * late 9th century – ''Aftar themo uuatare'' “through the water” in an Old Dutch charm.^(ONW)^(EWN)^(Van der Sijs 2001)

+ * 901–1000 – ''Aftir'' in the Wachtendonck Psalms.^(ONW)^(EWN)

+ * c. 1200 – Middle Dutch ''achter'' in the Limburg Servatius.^(EWN)^(VMNW)

+ * 1253 – The spelling ''affter''.^(EWN)

+ * 1266–1267 – ''Bachten'' “at the back”.^(EWN)

+ * 1284 – ''Achter'' “in arrears” in a Bruges charter.^(VMNW)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Preposition===

+ # [[m|en|behind]], at the back of: ''De fiets staat achter het huis.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # [[m|en|beyond]], on the far side of.^(Wiktionary)^(WikiWoordenboek)

+ # After, in a sequence: ''achter elkaar'' “one after another, in a row”.^(Van Dale 2014)

+ # In phrases: ''achter iets komen'' “to find something out”.^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # At the back: ''Hij zit achter in de klas.''^(Van Dale 2014)

+ # Behind, in [[m|en|arrears]]: ''De klok loopt vijf minuten achter.''^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[achterbaks]]

+ * [[achtervoegsel]]

+ * [[achterlijk]]

+ * [[achterban]]

+ * [[achterbeen]]

+ * [[achterdek]]

+ * [[achtergrond]]

+ * [[achterhalen]]

+ * [[achterhoek]]

+ * [[achterhouden]]

+ * [[achterkeuken]]

+ * [[achterklap]]

+ * [[achterneef]]

+ * [[achterste]]

+ * [[achteruit]]

+ * [[achterna]]

+ * [[achtervolgen]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[m|nl|af]]

+ * [[echter]]

+ * [[en|after]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}