Editor's Corner

Hello!

It’s time for Editor’s Corner again. Since I’m easing back into work after a vacation filled with the French and Dutch languages, I thought I’d share some words with you that we have borrowed from Dutch. It turns out we share many words, since English and Dutch are both Germanic languages. In particular, the nautical world is full of Dutch terms (only a few listed here).

boss from baas

brawl from brallen

buoy from boei (="shackle" or "buoy")

coleslaw from koolsla (literally "cabbage salad")

cruller from Dutch krullen (="to curl")

dam from Middle Dutch dam (compare Amsterdam or Rotterdam)

domineer from Dutch domineren (="to rule")

elope from ontlopen (run away)

frolic from vrolijk (="cheerful")

furlough from verlof (="permission [to leave]")

grab from grijpen (="to seize, to grasp, to snatch")

kink from kink (referring to a twist in a rope)

knapsack possibly from knapzak (literally "bag of snacks")

landscape from landschap

rucksack from rugzak (="bag that is carried on your back")

skipper from Middle Dutch scipper (now schipper, literally "shipper")

slurp from slurpen

splinter from splinter

split from Middle Dutch splitten

wiggle from wiggelen (="to wobble, to wiggle") or wiegen (="to rock")

Terms from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Dutch_origin