welk Dutch · revision 37353

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=901–1000, Wachtendonck Psalms|origins=gem-pro *hwilīkaz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ʋɛlk/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''welk'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Dialects have many forms such as ''wek'', ''wi(l)k'', ''wu(l)k'' and ''wuk'', arising from changes of the vowel or vocalisation of the ⟨l⟩.^(WNT) Northeastern ''huk'' probably owes its form to ''hoe'' and ''zuk'' “such”.^(Van Haeringen 1936)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|dum|welc]], [[inh|odt|wilik]], [[inh|gem-pro|*hwilīkaz|t=what kind of]].^(EWN)^(Wiktionary)^(ONW) The same word is [[got|𐍈𐌹𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃|tr=ƕileiks]], [[non|hvílíkr]] (modern [[sv|vilken]]), [[ang|hwilc]] (modern [[en|which]]), [[osx|hwilīk]], [[goh|welīh]] (modern [[de|welch]]) and [[ofs|hwelik]] (modern [[fy|hokker]]).^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912)

+

+ It was formed in Germanic from the stem of the interrogative pronoun, [[m|gem-pro|*hwaz|alt=*hwa-, *hwe-, *hwi-]] (see [[wie]] and [[hoe]]), and [[m|gem-pro|*līką|alt=*-līka-|t=body, shape]] (see [[-lijk]] and [[lijk]]), so that it first meant “having what shape”.^(EWN)^(ONW)^(WNT) The pronoun stem goes back to [[ine-pro|*kʷos|alt=*kʷo-]].^(Kroonen 2013)^(WNT) [[zulk]] and [[elk]] are formed in the same way.^(EWN)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912)

+

+ Forms such as Old English ⟨hūlic⟩ and Old Frisian ⟨hulk⟩, ⟨hok⟩ are best taken as later developments, with the ⟨w⟩ vocalised and the following vowel rounded.^(De Vries 1971)^(Van Haeringen 1936)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The Wachtendonck Psalms of the 10th century have ''in so uuilikin dage ic ruopen'', “on whatever day I shall call”.^(EWN)^(Van der Sijs 2001) About 1100 the Egmond Williram asks ''Welic is ther thin drut uone drute'', “what kind of beloved is your beloved, compared with other beloveds?”^(EWN)^(ONW) Middle Dutch ''welc'' is recorded from 1236.^(VMNW)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Dutch already used the word in direct and indirect questions, both for “which” and for “of what kind”, and with ''sō'' for “whichever”.^(ONW)^(EWN) Middle Dutch also used it as a relative pronoun, and ''welc van desen tween'' asked “which of these”, as in the Gospel parable of the father and his sons (1291).^(VMNW)^(MNW)

+

+ The word was once declined like an adjective, but most of its case forms have gone out of use.^(WNT) The genitives ''welks'' and ''welker'' lasted longer in the relative pronoun, and the neuter relative ''welk'' was gradually replaced by [[hetwelk]], as the masculine was by [[dewelke]].^(WNT) In modern Dutch the relative ''welke'' is formal, while the interrogative is common.^(Wiktionary)^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ Dutch passed the pronoun to Negerhollands (''welk'', ''welleke'', ''welli'') and Berbice Dutch (''weleke'').^(Van der Sijs 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 901–1000 – Old Dutch ''so uuilikin'' “whichever” in the Wachtendonck Psalms.^(EWN)^(Van der Sijs 2001)

+ * c. 1100 – ''Welic'' “of what kind” in the Egmond Williram.^(EWN)^(ONW)

+ * 1236 – Middle Dutch ''welc''.^(VMNW)

+ * 1265–1279 – ''Op welken tijt'', “whenever”.^(EWN)

+ * 1291 – ''Welc van desen tween'', “which of these”.^(VMNW)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # ''(interrogative)'' [[m|en|which]], what: ''welke trein neem je?''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(relative, formal)'' Which, who: ''de regels welke hier gelden''.^(Wiktionary)^(WNT)

+ # ''(with ook)'' Whichever, whatever: ''welke keuze je ook maakt''.^(Van Dale 2014)

+ # ''(archaic)'' In exclamations of surprise or dismay: what!^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[dewelke]]

+ * [[hetwelk]]

+ * [[welkdanig]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[wie]]

+ * [[hoe]]

+ * [[zulk]]

+ * [[elk]]

+ * [[en|which]]

+ * [[de|welch]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ An adjective ''welk'' “withered, faded” has another origin: the Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal derives it from the Indo-European root of words for “wet”.^(WNT) Kiliaan lists it in 1588, and it came back into use in the 18th century through German; it is now literary, and the verb [[welken]] “to wither” belongs with it.^(WNT)^(MNW)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}