eerst Dutch · revision 37335

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1100, Egmond Williram|origins=gem-pro *airistaz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /eːrst/, [ɪːrst]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''eerst'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|dum|eerst]] (also ⟨erst⟩, ⟨ierst⟩), [[inh|odt|ērist]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*airist]], [[inh|gem-pro|*airistaz|alt=*airista-|t=earliest, first]], the superlative of [[m|gem-pro|*air|t=early]], which is continued in [[eer]] and [[eerder]].^(EWN)^(Wiktionary)^(ONW)^(De Vries 1971) The same word is [[osx|ērist]], [[goh|ērist]] (modern [[de|erst]]), [[ofs|ērost]] (modern [[fy|earst]]) and [[ang|ǣrest]], which survives in [[m|en|erst]] and [[m|en|erstwhile]].^(EWN)^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997)^(Vercoullie 1925)

+

+ The word served at once as an ordinal number, now [[eerste]], and as an adverb.^(EWN)^(WNT) The Early Middle Dutch dictionary describes it as the adverb ⟨eer⟩ with the superlative suffix ⟨-st⟩.^(VMNW)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old Dutch ''eriste'' “first” and the adverb ''erist'' “first, before” both occur about 1100 in the Egmond Williram, which speaks of ''thaz eriste uers'', “the first verse”.^(EWN)^(ONW)^(Van der Sijs 2001) Middle Dutch ''erst'' “first, formerly” is found in Hendrik van Veldeke's ''Servas'' of about 1200.^(EWN)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In 13th-century Middle Dutch the adverb meant “before, formerly”, as in a West Flemish line of 1285 on the temple that Solomon ''eerst'' had built, and also “in the first place” and “first of all”.^(VMNW) With ''comende'' it meant “next”, of a coming feast day (1291), and ''erst coops'' was said of goods bought straight from the producer (1286).^(VMNW) The sense “only, not until”, now formal and usually expressed by [[pas]], is recorded from 1290.^(EWN)^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ As an ordinal ''eerste'' formed many phrases: ''de eerste de beste'', the first that comes along, is recorded in 1732, and ''van de eerste tot de laatste'', all without exception, in 1806.^(WNT) The biblical ''de laatsten zullen de eersten zijn'' and the proverb ''die eerst komt, eerst maalt'' became common sayings.^(Stoett 1923)

+

+ An emphatic ''eerst'' like German ''erst'' (''dat was me eerst een kerel!'') was condemned by Moortgat in 1925 as a germanism, though he noted it in the dialect of the Hageland.^(Moortgat 1925) Dutch ''eerst'' and ''eerste'' passed into Negerhollands, Berbice Creole Dutch ''esti'' and Javindo, and Afrikaans has [[m|af|eers]].^(Van der Sijs 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1100 – Old Dutch ''eriste'' and ''erist'' in the Egmond Williram.^(EWN)^(ONW)

+ * c. 1200 – Middle Dutch ''erst'' in Veldeke's ''Servas''.^(EWN)

+ * 1285 – ''Eerst'' “formerly” in a West Flemish text.^(VMNW)

+ * 1290 – ''Eerst'' in the sense “only, not until”.^(EWN)

+ * 1732 – ''De eerste de beste'', the first that comes along.^(WNT)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # [[m|en|first]], before anyone else: ''zij was er het eerst''.^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # First, before something else happens: ''eerst eten we, dan gaan we wandelen''.^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)^(WikiWoordenboek)

+ # At first, originally, in the beginning: ''eerst wilde hij niet, later wel''.^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(formal)'' Only, not until: ''eerst toen kwam de dokter''.^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[allereerst]]

+ * [[eerstaanwezend]]

+ * [[eerstbedoeld]]

+ * [[eerstdaags]]

+ * [[eerstgeboorterecht]]

+ * [[eerstgeboren]]

+ * [[eerstgemeld]]

+ * [[eerstgenoemd]]

+ * [[eerstkomend]]

+ * [[eerstverantwoordelijk]]

+ * [[eerstvermeld]]

+ * [[eerstvolgend]]

+ * [[vooreerst]]

+ * [[eersteling]]

+ * [[eerstejaars]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[eer]]

+ * [[eerder]]

+ * [[eerste]]

+ * [[eerstens]]

+ * [[en|erst]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Voor het eerst'' means “for the first time”.^(Van Dale 2014) The ordinal number is ''eerste'' (''de eerste dag''), and ''eerstens'' means “firstly”.^(Wiktionary) In the sense “only, not until” most speakers now use ''pas'', and Van Dale marks ''eerst'' in that sense as formal.^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}