alsof Dutch · revision 37332

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=c. 1220, Middle Dutch (Lower Rhine)}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ɑlsˈɔf/, /ɑlˈsɔf/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''alsof''' (conjunction, invariable)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|nl|als|of]]: Middle Dutch [[m|dum|alse ofte]] joined the conjunction of comparison [[als]] “as” and the conjunction [[of]] in the sense “if”, so that the phrase meant “as (it would be) if”.^(VMNW)^(WNT)^(ANW) German has the same construction, [[m|de|als ob]].^(WNT) It used to be written separately and became one word later.^(WNT)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The earliest Middle Dutch record is from the Lower Rhine about 1220, in the line ''alsof hi al verwondet ware'', “as if he were wounded all over”, and the conjunction appears in a Ghent charter of 1237.^(VMNW)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the start ''alsof'' introduced a clause describing something unreal, used for comparison.^(VMNW)^(WNT) The verb after it was originally in the subjunctive, as in the 1688 States Bible ''als of ick niet geweest en ware'', but the indicative later became usual, except for ''ware'' from ''zijn''.^(WNT) It is especially common after verbs such as ''doen'', ''zich houden'' and ''eruitzien'', and with the main clause left out it introduces an exclamation of rejection.^(WNT)^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ Dutch ''alsof'' passed into West Frisian ''as of'' and Negerhollands ''as of''.^(Van der Sijs 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1220 – Middle Dutch ''alsof'' “as if” in a Lower Rhine text.^(VMNW)

+ * 1237 – The conjunction in a Ghent charter.^(VMNW)

+ * 1545 – Earliest quotation in the Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal.^(WNT)

+ * 1688 – ''Als of ick niet geweest en ware'' in the States Bible.^(WNT)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Conjunction===

+ # [[m|en|as if]], as though, introducing an unreal comparison: ''hij keek alsof hij een spook zag''.^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)^(WikiWoordenboek)

+ # With the main clause left out, rejecting an idea: ''alsof ik dat niet wist!''.^(WNT)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[als]]

+ * [[of]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Doen alsof'' means “to pretend”, and ''het is alsof de duivel ermee speelt'' is said when things keep going wrong.^(Van Dale 2014) The stress falls on ''of''.^(WNT)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}