betekenen Dutch · revision 37355

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /bəˈteːkənə(n)/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''betekenen'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|dum|betekenen]], [[inh|odt|bitēkanen]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*bitaiknijan]], formed with [[be-]] on a verb of the same meaning that survives as [[tekenen]].^(EWN)^(ONW)^(Wiktionary)^(De Vries 1971) That verb, [[gem-pro|*taikniją|alt=*taiknian-]], also gave [[ang|tācnian|t=to signify]], and was formed on the noun [[gem-pro|*taikną|alt=*taikna-|t=sign]] (see [[teken]]).^(EWN)^(Wiktionary) The same prefixed verb is found in [[osx|bitēkniandelīk|t=symbolic]], [[goh|bizeihhenen|t=to indicate]] (modern [[de|bezeichnen]]), [[ofs|bitēknia|t=to indicate, mean]] and [[enm|bitacnien]] (modern [[en|betoken]]); modern [[fy|betekenje]] is probably taken from Dutch.^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)

+

+ The Old Dutch form ⟨beceignedo⟩ is to be read ⟨beteigneda⟩, unless the ⟨c⟩ is a German spelling for /ts/.^(EWN) The Middle Dutch spelling ⟨beteikenen⟩ is only a variant.^(EWN)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The Wachtendonck Psalms of the 10th century gloss Latin ''signata'' “the things signified” as ''beceignedo'', and ''becehnot'' renders ''signatum''.^(EWN)^(ONW) In Middle Dutch the verb is first found in 1265–1270 in the life of Saint Lutgart from Brabant, where a red colour ''beteekent dat ic vele saken dor godes willen ondernam'', “means that I undertook many things for God's sake”.^(VMNW)^(EWN)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In medieval texts the verb served above all for symbolic interpretation: in a text of 1270 from the Lower Rhine the peacock's tail full of eyes ''betekent'' that one should be watchful of what is to come.^(VMNW) Later Middle Dutch also used it for “to notify someone” (1460), “to interpret” a dream (1477), “to record” (1408), “to fix” a time or place, and “to mark with a sign” (1477).^(MNW)^(EWN)

+

+ The sense “to mark with a sign” lasted into the 17th century and is now obsolete.^(WNT) With a word as subject the verb means “to have as its meaning”, as in a quotation of 1681 explaining an East Indies word.^(WNT) By the late 18th century it also meant “to be worth, to matter” (''in Holland betekenden zij niet veel'', 1782), and later “to imply, to lead to”.^(WNT)^(Van Dale 2014) The notifying sense lives on in law, where a bailiff ''betekent'' a writ.^(Van Dale 2014)^(MNW) Writers sometimes used ''betekenend'' for “important” after German ''bedeutend'', a use the Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal calls a Germanism.^(WNT)

+

+ The verb was taken into Danish ([[da|betegne]]), Norwegian and Swedish ([[sv|beteckna]]) from Dutch or Low German, and survives in Afrikaans [[m|af|beteken]].^(Van der Sijs 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 901–1000 – Old Dutch ''beceignedo'' and ''becehnot'' in the Wachtendonck Psalms.^(EWN)^(ONW)

+ * 1240 – The derivative ''betekenisse'' “meaning”.^(EWN)

+ * 1265–1270 – Middle Dutch ''betekenen'' “to denote, symbolise”.^(EWN)^(VMNW)

+ * 1460 – “To notify”.^(MNW)

+ * 1681 – A word ''betekent'' something.^(WNT)

+ * 1782 – “To be worth, to matter”.^(WNT)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|mean]], to [[m|en|signify]], to stand for: ''wat betekent dit teken?''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)^(WikiWoordenboek)

+ # To be worth, to matter, to count for something: ''wat kan ik voor je betekenen?'', what can I do for you?^(Van Dale 2014)^(WikiWoordenboek)

+ # To lead to, to result in, to entail.^(Van Dale 2014)^(WikiWoordenboek)

+ # ''(law)'' To serve, to notify officially.^(Van Dale 2014)^(MNW)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[betekenis]]

+ * [[betekening]]

+ * [[onbetekenend]]

+ * [[veelbetekenend]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[teken]]

+ * [[tekenen]]

+ * [[en|betoken]]

+ * [[de|bezeichnen]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Dat betekent niet veel goeds'' says that something bodes ill, ''het heeft niets te betekenen'' plays down a symptom or a small injury, and ''wat heeft dit te betekenen?'' is an angry question to someone caught in the act.^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}