Dutch

→ Hindi: डच (ḍac)

PIE word
 *tewtéh₂
Derived from Middle English Duch (“German, Low German, Dutch”), from Middle Low German dütsch, düdesch (“German, Low German, Dutch”) and Middle Dutch dūtsch, duutsc (“German, Low German, Dutch”), from Proto-West Germanic *þiudisk, from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz (“of one’s people”), derived from *þeudō (“people”), from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂. Doublet of Deutsch and Doitsu.
Compare Middle English thedisch (“native, endemic”) from Old English þēodisċ (“of one’s people”), Old Saxon thiudisk (German Low German düütsch (“German”)), Old High German diutisc (modern German deutsch (“German”)), modern Dutch Duits (“German”) alongside elevated Diets (“Dutch”) (a secondary distinction, fully accepted only in the 19th century). See also Derrick, Teuton, Teutonic.
The pejorative senses (Dutch courage, Dutch wife, Dutch uncle, etc.) are said to stem from the Anglo-Dutch Wars and the accompanying rivalry.

cog

(archaic) German; the main language of the Holy Roman Empire (Germany, Austria, Alsace, Luxembourg).


Netherlands

en-proper noun

the Netherlands (usually uncountable, plural the Netherlands)

the Netherlands (canonical)
the Netherlands (plural)

From nether (“lower”) + lands, the country being very low-lying, with a great part below sea level. Either a calque or a parallel formation to Dutch Nederland.

For quotations using this term, see Citations:Netherlands.

Kingdom of the Netherlands
Kingdom of the Netherlands#English

The main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located primarily in Western Europe bordering Germany and Belgium. Capital and largest city: Amsterdam.

Holland

formally refers to the provinces of North Holland and South Holland, but often colloquially used to refer to the entire country

constituent countries
constituent country

A country in Western Europe, consisting of four constituent countries: the Netherlands per se, Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten.

Ҳоландиа

country in northwestern Europe — see also Holland


Netherlands

(slang) Alternative letter-case form of netherlands.


Netherlands Antilles

Kingdom of the Netherlands
Kingdom of the Netherlands

(historical) A former autonomous country in the Caribbean, within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, composed of the islands of Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, Saba and Sint Maarten, dissolved in 2010.


Aruba

Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I wanna take ya / Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama

1988, “Kokomo”, in Still Cruisin', performed by The Beach Boys:

An island, dependent territory, and constituent country of the Netherlands, in the Caribbean Sea.


Frisian

From Middle English Frisoun, taken from Old French frison (“a Frisian”), itself derived from Latin Frīsiī (“Frisians”). Displaced native Old English Frīsa (“a Frisian”); see the plural Frīsan for more.

In the province of Friesland, in the north of the Netherlands, a high percentage of the population, about 350000, speak Frisian as their first language.

1998, Colin Baker, Sylvia Prys Jones, Encyclopedia of bilingualism and bilingual education, page 405:

This means that full competence in both Frisian and Dutch (ie understanding, speaking, reading and writing ability) is aimed at all pupils in the province, whether they speak Frisian or Dutch at home.

2000, Jasone Cenoz, Ulrike Jessner, English in Europe: the acquisition of a third language, page 223:

Many Frisians speak Frisian at home and Dutch at work.

2005, Pat Seward, Sunandini Arora Lal, Netherlands, page 89:

A Germanic language group or language (see Usage notes), or a lect thereof, which descended from Old Frisian, with speakers in the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark.

(specifically) The West Frisian (or Western Frisian) lect, spoken in the northern Netherlands.

(specifically) Saterland Frisian, the last surviving dialect of the East Frisian lect, spoken in Northern Germany close to the Dutch border.

(specifically) The North Frisian lect, spoken in northwestern Schleswig-Holstein in Germany.


Frisian

A member of the Germanic ethnic group which is native to the region of Frisia (which is in the Netherlands, northern Germany, and southern Denmark).

ֆրիզ

member of the Germanic ethnic group which is native to Frisia


Amsterdam

The Dutch seat of government is not the metropolis of Amsterdam but The Hague.

While Amsterdam is the largest city in the province of Noord-Holland, Haarlem is the province capital.

A city and municipality of North Holland, Netherlands; capital city of the Netherlands.

A number of places in the United States, most being named after the Dutch city:

Montgomery County
Montgomery County#English

A town and city in Montgomery County, New York.


The Hague

From the French translation (confused with La Hague) of Dutch Den Haag, short form of 's-Gravenhage, from Middle Dutch des Graven hage (1400s), literally, "the Count's hedge[-enclosed hunting grounds]",

A city and capital of South Holland, Netherlands; administrative capital of the Netherlands.


Aruban

A person from Aruba or of Aruban descent.


Aruban

Of, from, or pertaining to Aruba, the Aruban people or the Aruban language.


Limburg

Limburg (countable and uncountable, plural Limburgs)


Holland

From Old Dutch holt lant (“wood land”). A popular but false etymology holds that it is derived from hol land (“hollow land”), inspired by the low-lying geography of both the Dutch and the English region (Holland, Lincolnshire).

(metonymically, informal, proscribed, see usage notes) the Netherlands (a country in Western Europe).


Drenthe

A province in the northeastern Netherlands with Assen as capital and Emmen as largest city.


Friesland

From Middle English Frīsland, from Old English Frīsland (“Frisia”).


Gelderland

A province of The Netherlands with Arnhem as capital.


Overijssel

Borrowed from Dutch Overijssel, meaning “[land] across the IJssel”, from the perspective of the bishopric of Utrecht by which it was held until 1528.

A province of the Netherlands, with Zwolle as capital city and Enschede the largest city.


South Holland

South Holland
South Holland, Illinois
South Holland, Lincolnshire


Utrecht

From Dutch Utrecht, from Middle Dutch and Old Dutch variants of ūt (“out, outside”) + Latin Trāiectum ad Rhēnum (“Crossing-on-the-Rhine”), the Roman fort at the location, from trāicere (“to cross, to send across”), from trāns- (“trans-: through, across”) + iacere (“to throw”).

der

E.g. muug 'tired' in the Utrecht dialect (Ponelis 1990: 36). Utrechtian, which does not delete intervocalic [χ/ɣ], belongs to the group of Hollandic dialects, which is the Dutch dialect group most closely related to Afrikaans.

2012, Hans den Besten, edited by Ton van der Wouden, Roots of Afrikaans: Selected writings of Hans den Besten (series: Creole Language Library 44), John Benjamins Publishing Company: Amsterdam / Philadelphia, p. 81


Dutch courage

This dates back to a time of intense political rivalry between England and the Netherlands, and was originally an ethnic slur.

I was beginning to wish I'd had the sense to spend the last hour in a pub. Dutch courage would have been better than no courage at all.

2010, Minette Walters, The Shape of Snakes, Pan Macmillan, →ISBN:

(idiomatic) The courage or bravado induced by alcohol.

Another five minutes wait and we finally raise glasses in a toast to the evening. ‘So, what's the plan?’ ‘Well, we can go straight to the casino after this or we can get half a skinful of Dutch courage.’

2015, R.A. Barnes, Peril: A Ger Mayes Crime Novel, Marble City Publishing, →ISBN:

(idiomatic) An alcoholic drink, taken to bolster one's courage.


mud

From Dutch mud, from West Germanic, from Latin modius. Doublet of modius and muid.

(historical) A kind of box traditionally used in the Netherlands for measuring muds.


North Sea

From Middle English North-see, from Old English norþsǣ (“northern sea, Bristol Channel, Baltic, North Sea”), equivalent to north + sea. Cognate with West Frisian Noardsee (“North Sea”), Dutch Noordzee, German Nordsee, Danish Nordsøen, Swedish Nordsjön, Icelandic Norðursjór.

A marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean between Britain (in the west), Scandinavia (in the east) and Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and France (in the south).

Noordsee

a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean between Britain, Scandinavia and Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France


florin

From Middle English florin, floren, from Old French florin, from Italian fiorino (“little flower”). Doublet of fiorino.

[I]n 1646, during the phenomenon known as "Tulipomania", a tulip like the red and white 'Admirael van der Eijck', or the purple-splashed 'Generalen van Gouda' would sell for more than 1,000 Dutch florins, at a time when the average annual income of a skilled worker was about 300 florins.

2014 September 26, Charles Quest-Ritson, “The Dutch garden where tulip bulbs live forever: Hortus Bulborum, a volunteer-run Dutch garden, is dedicated to conserving historic varieties before they vanish for good [print version: Inspired by a living bulb archive, 27 September 2014, p. G5]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Gardening):

A guilder (pre-Euro currency unit of the Netherlands).

The currency of Aruba, divided into 100 cents, symbol ƒ.

A pre-decimal British coin, worth two shillings or ten new pence.

A pre-decimal Australian, and New Zealand, coin, worth 24 pence or a tenth of a pound.


guilder

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-gilder.wav

[N]one ſhall be choſen to be a Commiſſioner in the Court at Amſterdam, vnleſſe he put ſix thouſand gilders ſtocke of his owne in the ſaid Companie; [...]

1621, Orders and Articles Granted by the High and Mightie Lords the States General of the Vnited Provinces, Concerning the Erecting of a VVest Indian Companie: Together with the Priuiledges and Rights Giuen vnto the Same, [London]: [s.n.], →OCLC, clause 13:

On the Spuy is a good Dutch Inn, called the Hoff van Utrecht. The Price is a Gilder a Day, or a Shilling for the Dinner only.

1743, [Henry Lawson], “The Manner in which Strangers Live at the Hague”, in A Description of Holland: Or, The Present State of the United Provinces. […], London: Printed for J. and P. Knapton, […], →OCLC, page 208:

The former currency unit in the Netherlands, divided into 100 cents.

Netherlands Antilles
Netherlands Antilles

The current currency unit in the islands in the former Netherlands Antilles, divided into 100 cents.


thaler

dollar

From German Thaler, an abbreviation of Joachimsthaler, after Sankt Joachimsthal, the German city in which some of the earliest thalers were minted in 1518. Doublet of tolar.

(historical, numismatics) A monetary unit used in a number of central and northern European countries, known locally as daalder (Netherlands), daler (Scandinavia), Taler, Thaler (Germany), etc.


Rotterdam

/ˈɹɒtə(ɹ)ˌdæm/


West Frisian Islands

A chain of islands in the North Sea, belonging to the Netherlands, part of the Frisian Islands.


Selected by the European Union as the 3-digit number fastest to dial on cellular and rotary phones without the likelihood of accidental dialing caused by hanging up a landline telephone, sometimes interpreted by phone networks as a 1.

When you call 112 in the United Kingdom, the call is automatically rerouted to 999 operators.

The telephone number for emergency services on all GSM cell phones and in the EU, Russia, United Kingdom, Ireland, India, Indonesia, Turkey, Ukraine, Cameroon, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome, the Seychelles, Uganda, East Timor, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, North Macedonia, Vatican City, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, and Saint Vincent.


Curaçao

/ˌkuːɹəˈsaʊ/

Unadapted borrowing from Dutch Curaçao, from Spanish Curaçao, from Portuguese Curação, literally from curação (“cure, healing”) but probably a transcription of a Lokono endonym.

An island in the southern part of the Caribbean Sea off the west coast of Venezuela, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.


mijl

From Dutch mijl, cognate with English mile and similarly derived from Latin milia (“Roman mile, 1000 Roman paces”) but used instead for the much longer league of about an hour's walk.

(historical) A former Dutch unit of distance, usually equivalent to about 3 miles or 5–6 km.


Old Dutch

The earliest extant material in Old Low Franconian (or Old Dutch) is from the 9th century (psalm fragments translated in or around the south of Limburg, i.e. the south-east corner of the Netherlands).

1989, Hans Frede Nielsen, The Germanic Languages: Origins and Early Dialectal Interrelations, The University of Alabama Press, page 2f:

The earliest extant material in Old Dutch (or Old Low Franconian) is from the ninth century (psalm fragments translated in or around the south of Limburg, i.e. the south-east corner of the Netherlands).

1998, Hans Frede Nielsen, The Continental Backgrounds of English and its Insular Development until 1154, Odense University Press, page 43:

A branch of Old Low Franconian, with a Frisian substrate, spoken and written during the Middle Ages (c. 9th to 12th century) in the Netherlands and the northern part of present-day Belgium, as well as in areas of northern France along the North Sea coast and adjoining Belgium. This language represents the first attested stage of the Dutch language and its dialects, being succeeded by Middle Dutch in the later Middle Ages.


Hollander

From Middle English holander, Hollander; equivalent to Holland + -er; compare the German Holländer.


Amsterdammer

Alternative form: Amsterdamer

A person from, or residing in, Amsterdam.

Amsterdammer

An inhabitant or a resident of Amsterdam


red, white and blue

Many houses now were showing flags, and the red, white and blue was a jubilation in the morning sun.

2010, Cornelia Fuykschot, Hunger in Holland, Publisher, page 144


Salian

From Latin Salianus, from Salii + -ānus (“-an: forming adjectives”), from salīre (“to jump, to leap”) + -īus (“-y: forming adjectives”).

(historical) A member of the Salii, the chief priests of Mars in ancient Rome.


Salian

en-adj

Salian (comparative more Salian, superlative most Salian)

more Salian (comparative)
most Salian (superlative)

(historical) Of or related to the Salii, the priests of Mars in ancient Rome.


Salian

From Latin Salianus, from Salii + -ānus (“-an: forming adjectives”), from Sala (“the IJssel River”) + -īus (“-y: forming adjectives”). Cognate with Salic.

(historical) A person belonging to the German and Frankish tribes near the IJssel River in antiquity.


Salian

(historical) Of or related to the Salii, the Salian people.


Limburger

en-noun

Limburger (usually uncountable, plural Limburgers)

(countable) A native or inhabitant of Limburg.


Sint Maarten

A dependent territory and constituent country of the Netherlands, located on the southern half of the island of Saint Martin in the Caribbean Sea. Capital: Philipsburg.


Spanish Netherlands

(plural only, historical) The southern part of the Low Countries (Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg) during and after the Eighty Years' War, ruled by Spain and lasting from 1581 to 1713.


Eighty Years' War

(historical) The conflict in the Low Countries against Spanish rule, from 1568 to 1648, that gradually turned into a Dutch war of independence.


Kingdom of the Netherlands

the Kingdom of the Netherlands (canonical)

Calque of Dutch Koninkrijk der Nederlanden

calque

A monarchy consisting of the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten.

Koninkryk der Nederlande

monarchy consisting of the Netherlands and the Caribbean independent constituent countries


Salii

From Latin Salii (“the Salians”), from Sala (“the IJssel River”) + -ius (adjective-forming suffix), variant of Isala, from Proto-Germanic *Īsalō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eysh₂- (“to rush, to move quickly”).

der

(historical, dated) Synonym of Salians, the Salian people, especially in ancient Roman contexts.


Caribbean Netherlands

/ˌkæɹɪˈbiːən ˈnɛðə(ɹ)ləndz/

From Caribbean + Netherlands, calque of Dutch Caribisch Nederland.

The three special municipalities of the Netherlands that are located in the Caribbean: Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba.


Leidener

From Leiden + -er. Compare German Leidener.

The choice to retain a tax rather than to forgo a university (whose benefits Leideners continue to enjoy) demonstrated that the burghers of the Netherlands did not object to taxes as such.

1994, John H. Makin, Norman J. Ornstein, Debt and Taxes: How America Got into Its Budget Mess and What We Can Do about It, New York, NY: Times Books, →ISBN, page 52:

A native or inhabitant of Leiden, Netherlands.


Rotterdammer

From Rotterdam + -er, probably modelled on Dutch Rotterdammer.


Prince's Flag

A calque of the Dutch prinsenvlag, from prins (“prince”) + vlag (“flag”), so called because it was based on the Flag of Prince William of Orange-Nassau.

A Dutch historical flag, originally used by the Dutch Republic during the Eighty Years War, with three horizontal stripes: orange, white, and blue.


Dutchlike

en-adj

Dutchlike (comparative more Dutchlike, superlative most Dutchlike)

more Dutchlike (comparative)
most Dutchlike (superlative)

Yet Temple was right in emphasizing the spread of the Dutchlike subordination of politics to trade at least in Britain, and then gradually in other places. A

2011, Deirdre N. McCloskey, Bourgeois Dignity: Why Economics Can't Explain the Modern World:

Like or resembling the Dutch, their language, their culture, or their nation; Netherlandish.


reaal

From Dutch reaal, from Spanish real. Doublet of royal.

An obsolete currency in Curaçao, equivalent to six stuivers.


Frisian Islands

An archipelago in the eastern North Sea, off the coasts of mainland Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands.


Hollandophile

A person who loves or admires the country, culture or people of the Netherlands.


Dutch Golden Age

(historical) A period in the history of the Netherlands, roughly spanning the era from 1588 (the birth of the Dutch Republic) to 1672 (the Rampjaar, or Disaster Year), in which Dutch trade, science, and art and the Dutch military were among the most acclaimed in the world.


Netherlands New Guinea

colonial territory of the Netherlands, present-day West Papua or Western New Guinea.


Black Dutch

In reference to Germans, a mangled calque of German schwarze Deutsche (“black Germans”) under influence from Dutch.

The same usage still prevails among the vulgar as in the phrases, ‘black Irish’, ‘black Dutch’, describing certain well known types of Celts and Teutons (Hollanders, probably), differing widely from the prevailing type of either race in respect of their black eyes and hair, and gypsy-like, tawny complexions.

1875 December, American Bibliopolist, p. 260

There are strong indications that the original "Black Dutch" were swarthy-complexioned Germans. Anglo-Americans loosely applied the term to any dark-complexioned American of European descent... By the mid-19th century, the term had become an American colloquialism; a derogative term for anything denoting one's small stature, dark coloring, working-class status, political sentiments or anyone of foreign extract.

1997 March, James Pylant, "In Search of the Black Dutch", American Genealogy Magazine, Vol. 12, No. 1

(US, obsolete or historical) A European with dark hair, eyes, and skin, especially one from or claiming to be from Germany or the Netherlands, sometimes (derogatory, ethnic slur) with disparaging racial overtones.


February strike

From February + strike, a calque of Dutch Februaristaking.

(historical, politics) A general strike in the German-occupied Netherlands in 1941, during World War II.


Anglo-Dutch

Of or pertaining to both England (the English) and the Netherlands (the Dutch).


Leidenite

Another Leidenite, Thomas Blossom, was a passenger on the Speedwell, the Mayflower’s companion vessel, which sprang a leak and had to turn back. He eventually made the journey in 1629, joining the colony at Plymouth, where he became first deacon of the church.

2011 November 17, Charles McGrath, “In the Pilgrims’ Footsteps, Through England and the Netherlands”, in The New York Times:

(rare) A native or inhabitant of Leiden, Netherlands.


Austrian Netherlands

CHINEY, a city of the Auſtrian Netherlands on the confines of the biſhopric of Liege, about twelve miles ſouth-eaſt of Namur...

1771, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1st ed., Vol. II, p. 192

(plural only, historical) The southern part of the Low Countries (Netherlands, Belgium, & Luxembourg) during their period of Austrian rule (1714–1797), ending with their annexation by France during the Napoleonic Wars.


Hollandistan

From Holland (“the Netherlands”) + -i- + -stan.

af

According to the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, at least 80% of the 1.3 million newcomers in Germany in 2015 and 2016 are Islamic. Germany is becoming Germanistan. Holland is becoming Hollandistan. Europe is becoming Eurabia.

2017, Pamela Geller, “Forward”, in Fatwa: Hunted in America, Miami, Fla.: Dangerous Books, →ISBN, page xii:

(slang, derogatory, offensive) The Netherlands, viewed as an Islamic country because of immigration from Islamic countries.