Skip to main content

English Words with Dutch Origin

Dutch influence is all around us. Some we even use everyday. I recently read a book (The Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto) and it included a couple of English words that have Dutch origins. Which got me thinking...there must be others. And yes, there are many others. Here are some of my favorites or ones that we use commonly in English. For obvious reasons most are nautical terms.

Ahoy - from hoi (hello, hi)
Coleslaw - koolsla (literally cabbage salad)
Cookie - koekje or koekie (biscuit, little cake)
Gherkin - gurk (cucumber)
Hooky - hoekje (corner, like to go around the corner)
Iceberg - ijsberg (literally ice mountain)
Leak - lekken (to drip, to leak)
Maelstrom - maalstroom (grinding current, stirring current)
Buoy - boei (buoy, shackle)
Deck - dek (covering)
Brandy - brandewijn (burnt wine)

And there are many more. My favorite is koekje. I've found a neat website about etymology here where I found most of this. I included only the neatest ones. Maybe I'll post more in the future.

The Golden Age of the Netherlands was from around it's creation as a country, to the 17th century. So be prepared to read a lot about the exploration race between countries like Spain, England, and Sweden during the 15 and 16 hundreds up to the Revolutionary War of the Americas. I think next time I'll relate an interesting story I found during the Rev War featuring my family.....

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

de Vries, Hans de Vries. Almost.

In 1967 THE James Bond (Sean Connery) decided to step away from the world of James Bond films. EOS studios thus had to find a replacement. It came down to 5 men. 2 Brits, an American, a Australian, and a Dutchman. John Richardson, Anthony Rogers, Robert Campbell, George Lazenby, and Hans de Vries. None of those names ring a bell? George Lazenby won the part for the 6th Bond film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service. A movie that has been lauded both as the worst and one of the best Bond films in the franchise. If you haven't seen it, you should. It was the Bond film that 'Breaks the Fourth Wall', Bond gets married, wears a kilt, and goes skiing. But the reason for this post is instead of this; (Yes, THAT is James Bond) We could of had this. Improvement? Probably not. He looks a wee bit angry. Plus, no one watches OHMSS anyway. So, did de Vries have a movie career after Bond? Ha, no. The only notable movie rolls I can find for him were pre bond. And that was ...

Waffle, Wafel, Walfre, or Wafla?

A post! Due to a dearth of ideas (see what I did there? Wordsmart word) by me or the other author (cough cough); I was hoping a great story would be found using Google. Sadly, no. But I did finish a good book recently (Janson Directive by Robert Ludlum) that included a solid bit set in Amsterdam. The Amsterdam bit had me focused on Houseboats, which is a much bigger thing than I thought, and English Words with Dutch origins again. One I hadn't really thought of in a while that Ludlum referenced. Behold the Mighty Waffle Here in America. When we think Waffle our first thoughts are probably Belgium Waffles or Eggo (the surprising good readymade toaster variety). But did you know that Waffles are very old? The Dutch word Wafel (mid 13th century) and the Frankish word Walfre (1185) both come from the root word walfa which means honeycomb or cake (how about both!). Wikipedia goes into great detail about the origins of the Waffle and Waffle through the years. Fascinating bit compari...

Dutch Actors - Rutger Hauer

I had a case of 'Hey, I know that guy" the other day. I found another actor who is Dutch, who knew. Rutger Hauer Born in Breukelen, Netherlands 1944. (Yes that is where Brooklyn in New York got it's name from, I think I should post about that more some other time). I posted the picture of him that made me say "oh that guy". Anyone guess what movie the above picture is from? Anyone? Batman Begins, He played Mr Earle. The 'corrupt' businessman CEO leading Wayne Enterprises while Bruce was gone/dead. He gets what's coming to him in the end; "Didn't you get the memo?" Great stuff. Rutger is also known for playing a villain in Blade Runner. Recently he hasn't played many high profile roles besides the occasional guest start on TV shows. More info on his early life thanks to Wikipedia . His films IMDB . The man even has his own website ! Neat did you know facts about Rutger. His first and last name both end with er! -Got his st...