praat Dutch · revision 37428

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1451, Middle Dutch (Reinaert)}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /praːt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''praat''' ''m'' (uncountable, no diminutive)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|dum|praet]], a noun formed from the verb [[praten]] “to talk”.^(Wiktionary)^(WNT) The verb is itself of unclear origin: the EWN calls it possibly imitative, and Van Veen and Van der Sijs take it as a sound-imitating formation.^(EWN)^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997) The verb has a close match only in [[gml|prāten]]; [[enm|praten]] (modern [[en|prate]]) and [[sv|prata]] were probably borrowed from Middle Low German or Dutch.^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971) De Vries notes forms without ⟨r⟩, [[non|pati|t=chatter, rumour]] and the German dialect verb [[m|de|pfattern|t=to mumble]], and his idea that the ⟨r⟩ was inserted for emphasis is mentioned by the EWN as a possibility.^(De Vries 1971)^(EWN) A comparison with [[pl|bredzić|t=to drivel, babble]] is doubtful for so young and so West Germanic a word.^(De Vries 1971)^(De Vries & De Tollenaere 2004|296)

+

+ The Middle Dutch dictionary notes that the old genitive ⟨praats⟩, first a partitive genitive like ⟨moois⟩ and ⟨lekkers⟩, became a new nominative in phrases such as ⟨praats hebben⟩.^(MNW) The family names Praet and Van Praet have nothing to do with the word: they come from a Flemish field name, [[m|la|prātum|t=meadow]].^(MNW)^(VMNW)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Middle Dutch ''praet'' is first quoted in Reinaert (version of 1451), where the fox, facing a duel with a strong opponent, says ''nu ben ic teinden minen praet'', “now I am at the end of my talk”, that is, at a loss.^(MNW) Kiliaan glosses ''praet'' with Latin words for idle tales and trifles.^(MNW)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In early modern Dutch ''praat'' meant talking in general and also a manner of speaking: a text of 1610 praises a man “wise in counsel, sparing of talk”, and in 1691 a wagoner holds the writer up with his long-winded talk.^(WNT) ''Op de praat geraken'' (1624) was to become the subject of gossip.^(WNT) The Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal also finds a few 17th-century uses of ''Praat'' as a nickname for a chattering woman, perhaps a separate formation, a weak noun for the person who talks.^(WNT)

+

+ Today the word is uncountable and is used mostly in phrases: ''praats hebben'' is to brag or talk big, and ''iemand aan de praat houden'' is to keep someone talking.^(Van Dale 2014) Its diminutive ''praatje'' “chat; rumour” forms many compounds.^(WNT)^(Van Dale 2014) The noun went abroad with Dutch: German dialects have ''Praat'' “chatter”, Norwegian has ''prat'' “friendly talk”, and Negerhollands had ''praat'', which passed into the English Creole of the Virgin Islands.^(Van der Sijs 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1451 – Reinaert has ''nu ben ic teinden minen praet''.^(MNW)

+ * 1610 – ''Praat'' “talk” appears in a description of a man sparing of words.^(WNT)

+ * 1624 – ''Op de praat geraken'' “to become the talk of the town” is recorded.^(WNT)

+ * 1645 – A list of gossiping women includes ''Aeltje Praets''.^(WNT)

+ * 1691 – ''Praat'' is used for someone's way of talking.^(WNT)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|talk]], [[m|en|talking]]; chatter: ''Hij had veel praat, maar deed weinig.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)^(ANW)

+ # ''(in phrases)'' ''praats hebben'', to [[m|en|brag]], talk big.^(Van Dale 2014) ''Iemand aan de praat houden'', to keep someone talking and so hold them up.^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[praatje]]

+ * [[prietpraat]]

+ * [[praatjesmaker]]

+ * [[borrelpraat]]

+ * [[oudewijvenpraat]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[praten]]

+ * [[en|prate]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}