wijf
Dutch
editEtymology
editFrom Middle Dutch wijf, from Old Dutch wīf, from Proto-West Germanic *wīb, from Proto-Germanic *wībą. While initially a neutral term for "woman", the word came to be associated first with lower-class women from the seventeenth century onwards, and over the following centuries developed into a largely derogatory term for woman who is disliked or at least somewhat disrespected by the speaker. Nonetheless, in some dialects the word remained neutral even into the twentieth century.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editwijf n (plural wijven, diminutive wijfje n)
- (now generally derogatory) woman, potentially being as pejorative as bitch
- (often derogatory) broad, bint
Usage notes
edit- The diminutive of this word, wijfje, has an independent meaning (“female animal”) which is a diminutivum tantum in that sense.
- Colloquial diminutives (e.g. wijfie, wijffie) often have a familiar meaning and lack negative connotations.
Derived terms
editDescendants
editMiddle Dutch
editEtymology
editFrom Old Dutch wīf, from Proto-West Germanic *wīb.
Noun
editwijf n
Inflection
editDeclension of wijf
Descendants
editFurther reading
edit- “wijf”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
- Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “wijf”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN
Middle English
editNoun
editwijf (plural *wijve)
- Alternative spelling of wyf
Categories:
- Dutch terms inherited from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms inherited from Old Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Old Dutch
- Dutch terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- Dutch terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Dutch terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Dutch terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɛi̯f
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɛi̯f/1 syllable
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch nouns with plural in -en
- Dutch neuter nouns
- Dutch derogatory terms
- Middle Dutch terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Middle Dutch terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Middle Dutch terms inherited from Old Dutch
- Middle Dutch terms derived from Old Dutch
- Middle Dutch terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- Middle Dutch terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Middle Dutch lemmas
- Middle Dutch nouns
- Middle Dutch neuter nouns
- dum:People
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English nouns