Dutch etymology in numbers

Borrowed, inherited or formed

Each entry counted once: as borrowed if its etymology names a language it was taken from, else as inherited, else as formed within Dutch.

• Borrowed 13% · 49 taken from another language
• Inherited 79% · 309 passed down from an ancestor of Dutch
• Formed in Dutch 6% · 23 compounds and derivatives of its own words
• Not traced yet 2% · 9 no etymology links yet

Ultimate origins by language family

Where the 360 traced words end up when their etymologies are followed back as far as they go, from entry to entry, grouped into families and the branches of Indo-European.

1. Germanic 316 · 88% Proto-Germanic 225 · Middle Dutch 56 · Old Dutch 24 · German 3 …
2. Italic 27 · 8% Old French 11 · Latin 10 · French 3 · Italian 1 …
3. Indo-European 13 · 4% Proto-Indo-European 13
4. Hellenic 4 · 1% Ancient Greek 3 · Proto-Hellenic 1

When the words arrived

The 387 entries with a first-attestation date, by century and by the language each was borrowed from.

• French
• Latin
• English
• German
• Middle High German
• Other borrowings
• Inherited or formed
• Not traced

Words other languages took from Dutch

122 entries of other languages in this dictionary were borrowed from Dutch or its earlier stages.

1. English 109 blaze, poke, smack, slack
2. French 9 bar, bière, botte, mannequin
3. German 4 passen, Glück, klar, wahrscheinlich

Most prolific roots

The words that the most Dutch entries go back to, at the far end of their etymologies.

1. 2 Proto-Germanic *hauzijaną → horen, hoor
2. 2 Proto-Germanic *hiz → hij, ie
3. 2 Proto-Germanic *izweraz → jouw, uw
4. 2 Proto-Germanic *jīz → jij, je
5. 2 Proto-Germanic *midi → met, mee
6. 2 Proto-Germanic *nu → nou, nu
7. 1 Proto-Germanic *ab → af
8. 1 Proto-Germanic *after → achter
9. 1 Proto-Germanic *aiganaz → eigen
10. 1 Proto-Germanic *ainaz → een
11. 1 Proto-Germanic *airist → eerste
12. 1 Proto-Germanic *airistaz → eerst
13. 1 Proto-Germanic *aldaz → oud
14. 1 Proto-Germanic *allaz → al
15. 1 Proto-Germanic *allswā → als

Longest journeys

The Dutch words whose etymologies pass through the most languages, followed from entry to entry.

1. schrijven 5 languages

   Middle Dutch scrîven ← Old Dutch skrīvan ← Latin scribo ← Proto-Italic *skreif-e/o- ← Proto-Indo-European *skreybʰ-

2. soort 5 languages

   Middle Dutch sorte ← French sorte ← Latin sors ← Proto-Italic *sorti- ← Proto-Indo-European *sr̥-ti-

3. stop 5 languages

   Middle Dutch stoppe ← English stop ← Middle English stoppen ← Old English -stoppian ← Latin *stuppo

4. heer 4 languages

   Middle Dutch hêre ← Old Dutch hērro ← Old High German hēriro ← Middle Dutch here ← Old Dutch *heri ← Proto-Germanic *hari ← Proto-Germanic *harjaz

5. mijn 4 languages

   Middle Dutch mijn ← Old Dutch mīn ← Proto-Germanic *mīn ← Proto-Germanic *mīnaz ← Middle Dutch mine ← Old French mine

6. agent 4 languages

   French agent ← Latin agens ← Latin ago ← Proto-Italic *ag-e/o- ← Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-e/o-

7. dochter 4 languages

   Middle Dutch dochter ← Old Dutch dohter ← Proto-Germanic *dohter ← Proto-Germanic *duhtēr ← Proto-Indo-European *dʰugh₂tḗr

8. drie 4 languages

   Middle Dutch drie ← Old Dutch thrī ← Proto-Germanic *þrīʀ ← Proto-Germanic *þrīz ← Proto-Indo-European *tréyes

9. mis 4 languages

   Middle Dutch misse ← Latin missa ← Middle Dutch mis ← Old Dutch *missa ← Proto-Germanic *missu

10. nacht 4 languages

    Middle Dutch nacht ← Old Dutch naht ← Proto-Germanic *naht ← Proto-Germanic *nahts ← Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts