land Dutch · revision 37427

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=801, Old Dutch (place name ''Engilandi'', in a 10th-century copy)|origins=gem-pro *landą}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /lɑnt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''land''' ''n'' (plural landen, diminutive landje n)^(Wiktionary)

+ Older spellings are ''landt'' and ''lant''.^(Wiktionary)^(WNT)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|dum|lant]], [[inh|odt|lant]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*land]], [[inh|gem-pro|*landą|t=land]], which Kroonen gives as the neuter stem [[m|gem-pro|*landą|alt=*landa-]].^(EWN)^(Wiktionary)^(Kroonen 2013) The same word is [[osx|land]], [[goh|lant]] (modern [[de|Land]]), [[ofs|land]] (also ⟨lond⟩), [[ang|land]] (modern [[en|land]]), [[non|land]] and [[got|𐌻𐌰𐌽𐌳|tr=land]].^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)^(Kroonen 2013) Beside it stood a form with umlaut, [[gem-pro|*landjō-]], which survives in the Swedish dialect word [[m|sv|linda|t=fallow land]]; the verb [[belenden]] and the noun [[ellende]] are derived from the same base.^(EWN)

+

+ Outside Germanic the word has relatives only in Europe: [[prg|lindan|t=valley]], [[sla-pro|*lędo]] (with [[ru|ляда|tr=ljáda|t=overgrown low ground]], [[pl|ląd|t=land]] and [[cs|lada|t=untilled land]]) and [[cel-pro|*landā|t=open land]] (with [[sga|lann|t=plot, open place]] and [[cy|llan|t=area]]).^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971) From these Pokorny's dictionary sets up a root [[ine-pro|*londʰ-]], and Kroonen takes the Germanic noun as an o-grade formation of a European root [[m|ine-pro|*lendʰ-|t=unused land]], with the zero grade in [[m|gem-pro|*lundaz|alt=*lunda-|t=grove]].^(EWN)^(Kroonen 2013) The EWN calls the further etymology uncertain: Cowan and Polomé think the word was rather taken from a pre-Indo-European substrate, pointing to [[eu|landa|t=field]] and [[ca|llanda|t=plain]], which seem to be native there, whereas [[fr|lande|t=heath]] came from Celtic.^(EWN)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912) A link with [[lende]] is unlikely for reasons of meaning.^(EWN)

+

+ De Vries starts from the sense “enclosed piece of ground”, following Jost Trier, who saw a fence or wattle as the starting point, as in [[tuin]].^(De Vries 1971) The Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal takes the oldest sense to be “uncultivated ground”.^(WNT)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The word is first recorded in Old Dutch place names: ''Engilandi'' (a dative), modern Engeland in Gelderland, literally “enk-land”, is found in a document of 801 known from a 10th-century copy.^(EWN)^(Van der Sijs 2001)^(Van Berkel & Samplonius 2018) The Old Dutch fragments from Werden of about 1151 use it in a running text, of Noah sending out a raven to see whether it would find land anywhere.^(ONW)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Dutch already had the main senses: land as opposed to water, ground or soil, and the territory where a people lives or that a ruler controls.^(ONW) Middle Dutch ''lant'' adds land as property, especially farmland, the open country, and one's homeland; the Bernardus glossary of 1240 has “region; fatherland; farmland”.^(VMNW)^(EWN) The phrase ''te watre ende te lande'' “by water and by land” occurs in charters from Holland and Brussels in 1290.^(VMNW) The sense “realm, state” is dated from about 1200 in the Servaas legend.^(Van der Sijs 2001)

+

+ In the 16th century ''land'' came to mean the countryside as opposed to the towns, as in ''tplatte lant'' (1571), now [[platteland]].^(WNT) In Belgium the phrase ''op het land'' in this sense was criticised as a Germanism, since it properly means “in the fields”.^(Moortgat 1925) Sailors called out ''land!'' when the coast came in sight, and Winschoten (1681) records that ship's boys used the cry when the food bowl was nearly empty.^(WNT)^(Winschoten 1681)

+

+ Several phrases come from the Bible: ''het land van belofte'' from the Epistle to the Hebrews,^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997) and ''een stille in den lande'', a quiet, withdrawn person who is often thought not to be trustworthy, from Psalm 35.^(Stoett 1923) The proverb ''in het land der blinden is eenoog koning'' has Greek and Latin forerunners.^(Stoett 1923) Among Dutch Jews ''het land'' meant the land of Israel, a translation of Hebrew ''erets''.^(Van de Kamp 2006) In Suriname ''’s Lands'' is used for what belongs to the government, as in ''’s Lands Hospitaal'', a use now dated in the Netherlands.^(Van Donselaar 1989)

+

+ The word went into Negerhollands (''land'', ''lant''), Berbice Dutch (''landi'', ''alanda'') and Sranan Tongo ([[srn|lanti]]), and Afrikaans has [[m|af|land]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 801 – Old Dutch ''Engilandi'' (Engeland, Gelderland) is recorded, in a 10th-century copy.^(EWN)^(Van der Sijs 2001)

+ * c. 1151 – The Werden fragments use ''lant'' for dry land in the story of Noah.^(ONW)

+ * c. 1200 – Middle Dutch ''lant'' “realm, state” appears in the Servaas legend.^(Van der Sijs 2001)

+ * 1240 – The Bernardus glossary has ''lant'' “region; fatherland; farmland”.^(EWN)

+ * 1290 – Charters use ''te watre ende te lande'' “by water and by land”.^(VMNW)

+ * c. 1450 – The verb ''landen'' “to come ashore” is recorded.^(EWN)

+ * 1571 – ''Tplatte lant'' “the open country” is used of the countryside.^(WNT)

+ * 1681 – Winschoten records the sailors' phrase ''daar is geen land mee te bezeilen''.^(Winschoten 1681)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|land]], the part of the earth's surface not covered by water: ''Na drie weken op zee zagen ze eindelijk land.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(ANW)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Ground used for farming, [[m|en|farmland]]: ''Hij pacht twee hectare land.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(WikiWoordenboek)

+ # The [[m|en|countryside]], as opposed to the town.^(Van Dale 2014)^(WikiWoordenboek)

+ # A [[m|en|country]], state or nation: ''Ze heeft in vijf landen gewerkt.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A region or area.^(Van Dale 2014)

+ # ''(Netherlands, Caribbean)'' A constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, or the government of one of the overseas countries.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[eiland]]

+ * [[landbouw]]

+ * [[landen]]

+ * [[landschap]]

+ * [[landsknecht]]

+ * [[landstorm]]

+ * [[vaderland]]

+ * [[voorland]]

+ * [[landerig]]

+ * [[landjuweel]]

+ * [[landouw]]

+ * [[landzaat]]

+ * [[Morgenland]]

+ * [[weiland]]

+ * [[aanlandig]]

+ * [[belenden]]

+ * [[ellende]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[en|land]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Er is geen land met hem te bezeilen'' means that nothing can be done with him;^(Van Dale 2014) Winschoten already explains the phrase in 1681 as said of a boy who is good for nothing.^(Winschoten 1681) ''Het land hebben'' is to be in a bad mood:^(Van Dale 2014) Van Veen and Van der Sijs explain it as feeling like a sailor ashore,^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997) Vercoullie as having the land in one's body like an illness, longing for the sea.^(Vercoullie 1925)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}