agent Dutch · revision 37305

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1554|origins=la agō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /aːˈɣɛnt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''agent''' ''m'' (plural agenten, diminutive agentje n, feminine agente)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|agent|t=representative, agent]], from [[la|agēns|t=acting; one who acts]], the present participle of [[m|la|agō|t=to do, act]].^(EWN)^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997)^(WNT)^(Wiktionary) French had the noun by 1332, from [[it|agente|t=commercial agent]] (1304–1308).^(EWN) De Vries and De Tollenaere allow that Dutch took it from Italian or from French.^(De Vries & De Tollenaere 2004|48) The same Latin verb lies behind [[ageren]] and [[agens]].^(EWN)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The police sense comes from [[fr|agent de police]], coined during the French Revolution (1797) and shortened in Dutch.^(EWN)^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997) Van der Sijs adds that the sense “company representative” owes something to [[en|agent]].^(Van der Sijs 2005)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The Chronologisch woordenboek dates the word to 1554, in the sense “representative”.^(Van der Sijs 2001)^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997) In 1570 a text names ''eenich leenheer, chijnsheer oft ander agent'', any feudal lord, lord of a quitrent or other agent, that is someone acting for a lord or a public body.^(EWN)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ An ''agent'' was at first anyone who acted for a person or body.^(WNT) In trade it was the representative of a merchant house in a foreign town, and in diplomacy a person sent on a mission without a fixed title or rank.^(WNT) Under the Dutch Republic the ''Agent der Algemeene Staten'' was an official who received foreign envoys.^(WNT)

+

+ The police sense appears in 1798 in ''Agenten der Policie'', after the French term, and the Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal has it from 1841;^(EWN)^(WNT)^(Van der Sijs 2001) ''geheime agenten'' are mentioned in 1840 and the compound [[politieagent]] in 1864.^(EWN)^(WNT)^(Van der Sijs 2001) This is now the commonest sense.^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary) Recent uses include the agent of an intelligence service, a software program that works on its own, and a call-centre worker.^(ANW) In advertising Dutch the word has also been used with an English pronunciation and the plural ''agents''.^(Posthumus 1986)

+

+ Dutch passed the word on to Indonesian as ''agén'' and to several varieties of Malay in the sense “representative of a company”.^(Van der Sijs 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1554 – ''Agent'' “representative”.^(Van der Sijs 2001)

+ * 1570 – ''Eenich leenheer, chijnsheer oft ander agent''.^(EWN)

+ * 1798 – ''Agenten der Policie''.^(EWN)

+ * 1840 – ''Geheime agenten'' “secret police officers”.^(WNT)

+ * 1841 – ''Agent'' alone for a police officer.^(WNT)^(Van der Sijs 2001)

+ * 1864 – ''Politieagent''.^(EWN)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|police officer]], especially of the lowest rank: ''Een agent hield de fietser aan.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)^(ANW)

+ # An intermediary who acts on behalf of another, in trade, insurance or publishing: ''Haar agent regelt al haar contracten.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(ANW)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A person in diplomatic or political service without a fixed rank or title;^(Van Dale 2014) ''geheim agent'', a spy.^(Van Dale 2014)

+ # An agent of an intelligence or security service.^(ANW)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(computing)'' A program that works on its own, or a simulated actor in a model.^(ANW)

+ # A call-centre worker.^(ANW)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[agentuur]]

+ * [[agentschap]]

+ * [[beursagent]]

+ * [[veiligheidsagent]]

+ * [[verzekeringsagent]]

+ * [[handelsagent]]

+ * [[politieagent]]

+ * [[hoofdagent]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[agens]]

+ * [[ageren]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A woman police officer is an ''agente''.^(Wiktionary) Children are taught to call a police officer ''oom agent'' “uncle constable”.^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}