eigenlijk Dutch · revision 37358

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1240, Middle Dutch (Limburg)|origins=nl eigen}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈɛi̯ɣə(n)lək/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''eigenlijk''' (not comparable)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|dum|eigenlijc]], formed [[af|dum|eighin|-lijc|t1=own, independent]], the ancestors of [[eigen]] and [[-lijk]].^(EWN)^(VMNW)^(Wiktionary) The same formation is [[gml|egentlik]], [[gmh|eigenlich]] (modern [[de|eigentlich]]), [[ofs|egenlik|t=own]], [[ang|āgendlīce]] and [[non|eiginligr]]; modern [[sv|egentlig]] was taken from Middle Low German or Early New High German.^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)^(Van Haeringen 1936)

+

+ Middle Dutch also had the form [[m|dum|eigentlijc]], with a /t/ inserted between /n/ and /l/, as often happened before ⟨-lijk⟩.^(EWN) When the final /n/ of ⟨eigen⟩ was no longer pronounced, the /t/ disappeared as well, in speech and then in spelling; where the /n/ stayed, as in [[ordentelijk]] and in German ⟨eigentlich⟩, the /t/ remained.^(EWN)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The adverb is first recorded around 1240 in a Limburg glossary, where ''eigenleke'' renders Latin ''proprie'', “in the proper sense, specifically”.^(VMNW)^(EWN)^(Van der Sijs 2001) The adjective follows in 1295 in Holland, in ''eighinlijc goet'', property owned outright.^(VMNW)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Middle Dutch used the word in several senses near its source: “in the manner of a bondman” (an ''eigen'' man), “selfishly”, “as one's own property”, and in mystical texts “in reality, truly”.^(MNW)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912) As in German, the meaning moved early from the literal “own, of itself” to “real, actual”.^(EWN) A Limburg text of 1391 calls a word of Moses ''deigelicste wort'', the truest word that was spoken about God.^(MNW)

+

+ In the 17th century the adjective meant “deserving its name, in the strict sense” (1635) and also “true, exact” (1598), a use now obsolete.^(WNT) The adverb came to mean “when one looks at it closely, strictly speaking” (1630) and, with concessive force, “all things considered” (1647).^(WNT) In modern Dutch the adjective is mostly written, while the adverb is very common in speech and is turning into a modal particle that softens a question.^(EWN)

+

+ Danish, Norwegian and Swedish took the word from Dutch or Low German, and it lives on in Negerhollands ''eigentlik'', Papiamentu ''eigenlijk'' and Afrikaans [[m|af|eintlik]].^(Van der Sijs 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1240 – ''Eigenleke'' glosses Latin ''proprie'' in Limburg.^(VMNW)^(EWN)

+ * 1295 – The adjective ''eighinlijc'' “own”.^(VMNW)

+ * 1380–1400 – ''Eighenleke'' “himself, in person”.^(EWN)

+ * 1479–1517 – ''Properlic of eigentlick'', “specifically”.^(EWN)

+ * 1598 – The adjective “true, exact”.^(WNT)

+ * 1647 – The adverb “all things considered”.^(WNT)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Real, actual, proper; in the strict sense of the word: ''in eigenlijke zin'', literally.^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)^(WikiWoordenboek)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # [[m|en|actually]], really, all things considered: ''eigenlijk had ze gelijk''.^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # In questions, softening or pressing the question: ''wat doe je hier eigenlijk?''^(EWN)^(WikiWoordenboek)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[oneigenlijk]]

+ * [[eigenlijkheid]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[eigen]]

+ * [[ordentelijk]]

+ * [[de|eigentlich]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Waar wil je eigenlijk heen?'' asks what someone is driving at.^(Van Dale 2014) The older form ''eigentlijk'', with ⟨t⟩, is now obsolete.^(EWN)^(WNT)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}